


The Prince of Light

by Amalia_Ignisa, Pokeevee57



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-09-15 06:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9222170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amalia_Ignisa/pseuds/Amalia_Ignisa, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokeevee57/pseuds/Pokeevee57
Summary: One event can change an entire story. That's what happened to Sora. When he sacrificed himself to save Kairi, he was instead saved. Now alone, he is sent on a mission to protect not only the 7 Princesses of Heart, but also the 13 Beings of Balance, whose hearts keep the worlds alive and balanced. He's also believed to be dead, and it has to stay that way... Co-author is Amalia Ignisa. :P





	1. Sora's Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! The first story I'm posting here! Hope you all enjoy! If you have any questions, please let me know! :)
> 
> I'm sorry if it seems confusing, so feel free to ask questions! Kingdom Hearts was never very clear anyways...

Sora looked at the Keyblade in his hands. It had belonged to the possessed Riku, who Sora had defeated just a couple of minutes ago….

The Keyblade that he was holding was said to unlock a person’s heart. Sora believed he knew just how to unlock his own and free Kairi’s heart.

He looked around the area. He could just glimpse the other Princesses of Heart, still asleep...They almost looked to be in the same state as Kairi as well…

The young teen shook his head, knowing that they would wake up soon. He turned to his best friend. She looked so peaceful, yet so empty and sad…

He had to tear his eyes away to look at the Keyblade once more. He knew just what he had to do. He didn't care if he died or turned into a Heartless.

As long as it was…

For his most precious friends. Including her.

Sora lifted up the Keyblade as Donald and Goofy were arguing about what they should do next. He looked at them, smiling, remembering how much they had gone through to find his friends, and their king. Well, at least his friends were found, but not the king…

He smiled, then looked at the Keyblade before saying to Donald and Goofy, quietly, “Good luck on finding your king, Donald, Goofy…”

They stopped arguing to stare at Sora in confusion. Goofy said, “I thought you were coming with us, Sora?”

Sora slowly shook his head, and he said calmly, “No. This is where we have to part ways. I-”

Donald interrupted him. “But if we leave you here, how will you get back?”

Sora was silent for a moment. “...I won't be going back.”

Both Donald and Goofy exclaimed, “WHAT?!

Goofy continued, “You're staying here?”

The teen only stayed silent, looking at the Keyblade with a determined yet conflicted look. He wanted to continue his adventure, and find Riku, whatever happened to him…

But it would only waste time, and he didn't know how long Kairi could last like this. She had been like that, ‘gone’ for so long...He didn't know how much longer she'd have before it would be too late…

So he decided. He turned the Keyblade’s point towards his chest. Donald, seeing this, was getting very suspicious… “Sora? What are you…?”

He turned and smiled at him. “Good luck you two. And...take care of Kairi for me, will ya?” He grinned, then turned serious once again as he thrust the point of the sharp Keyblade towards his heart…

“SORA!”

Despite their protests, it had already happened. He took the Keyblade out of where he had punctured his heart, dropping it as he did so. Seven lights seemed to released, all going to their rightful owners. The Princesses.

And finally, the last one went to Kairi herself, being absorbed by her body willingly, and just as the light disappeared, she stirred and truly opened her eyes. She looked around in confusion before she saw Sora slowly falling back, the puncture still visible… “Sora!”

Sora saw as Kairi ran towards him with a worried look on her face. He smiled softly at her, and as she tried catching him, he only turned into particles of light, which floated off through the ceiling and into the sky…

Kairi was devastated. She had been asleep in his heart for so long, yet once she could finally see him, he had to go…

_“Sora...!”_

 

* * *

 

 

A boy with spiky blonde opened his eyes and found he was standing in front of a mansion’s gate. He couldn't remember anything…He felt blank, empty, incomplete, as if he didn't have a heart…

A man in a black coat appeared out of a strange, dark portal, the hood covering his face. He said to the boy with a inducing male voice, “Do you want purpose?”

The boy looked down, and nodded after a couple of minutes. The man waved his hand in front of him, producing a pale light and four letters:

S O R A

He waved his hand once more, and an ‘X’ appeared over the other letters. At one final wave, the letters swirled, seemingly at random, before they stopped, spelling one name…

The man said, “I shall give you purpose. Your new name shall be…”

The letters lit up with a golden light…

“...Roxas…”

And the man led him through the portal that he had entered through, the portal closing and disappearing behind their backs…

The boy, as he went through, felt as if he was leaving something very important behind. And he felt a single emotion, only for a quick second.  
But he somehow knew what it was...

Guilt.

 

* * *

 

 

A young teenage girl woke up inside a mansion, only remembering a girl with red hair and a boy with brown, spiky hair…

She looked around the room as she got up from the chair she was supposedly sitting on, seeing white walls and a white floor. A white table was in front of her, and it seemed the chair she was sitting on was white as well.

Something a different shade of white caught her eye, and she walked to the other end of the table to see what it was.

It was a pristine new sketchbook. She picked it up and held it carefully. It seemed to fit her hands perfectly, and she found a pencil on the table. She sat down again, not knowing what else she could do.

So she drew whatever came to her mind..

After a several minutes, the picture was clear. It was of a curving tree that had a star-shaped fruit hanging from its fronds. It was placed on a small island, a sunset viewable in the distance over the water.

Three figures were viewable. One was leaning against the tree’s trunk, arms crossed. What seemed to be a girl was sitting at the other end, smiling happily. Last but not least was a boy with spiky hair sitting between the other two, staring at the light with pure joy…

The girl drawing the picture smiled, and she continued, having nothing else to do…

Oh, how her talent would bring her both far ahead and far behind at the same time….

 

* * *

 

 

Sora was falling headfirst through what seemed to be a sea of darkness. It wasn't completely dark, but it seemed so.

His body was headed towards a blank, white platform, strongly contrasting the darkness around it. Sora was slowly flipped upright, his feet touching the platform softly.

Sora slowly opened his eyes, looking at the dark ‘sky.’ He was reminded of the day his adventure truly began, after that strange dream…

He looked down and saw the pure white platform. He put one foot forward to explore it, and suddenly, the light on the platform transformed into several doves, all flying up in a spiral, revealing a stained glass pillar that showed Sora himself…

“H-How am I here…? I thought…?”

Sora was very confused as to why he was in this place again. Didn't he die…?

“You didn't die, Sora.”

Sora turned around to see a young woman with a long white dress that shone brilliantly. Her bright, white hair was pulled back in a ponytail, clipped by a golden crown charm. Her eyes were a light blue color, and her face seemed to hold much wisdom and kindness.

“Who are you?”

The woman giggled. “Well, I guess I can tell you…”

“It's Kingdom Hearts. But you can just call me Kay, it's easier to say. It's nice to meet you Sora.”

Sora nodded. “Nice to meet you to! How do you know my name though…?”

She sighed. “All will soon be explained. But I have something else to say, something else much more important.”

Once she saw that the boy was listening, she continued. “You know the Seven Princesses of Heart, correct?”

Sora nodded. “Well, they are not the only ones needed to find and open Kingdom Hearts. You see, they are used to find it. But there are a few things that are needed to actually open the door.”

“In order to open Kingdom Hearts, one needs to find the Thirteen Beings of Balance.”

Sora asked, “Beings of Balance? What's so special about them?”

Kay continued, “The Princesses of Heart have Hearts of pure Light, and not even a spot of darkness is visible in their hearts. But the Beings of Balance are even more important than them, even if their hearts aren't as pure.”

“You see, each so-called ‘Being’ has a special power inside their hearts, whether it has already been found or yet to be discovered. They vary greatly in type, but are all equal in strength. Their powers help the worlds stay intact even though they were all together before.”

“The Beings can range from strange creatures to humans like yourself. Their power is phenomenal, even more so than the Princesses combined.”

Sora, not getting the point, asked, “What does this have to do with anything?”

Kay smiled sadly. “I'm almost there, just be a little more patient, okay?”

Sora pouted but nodded, Kay taking it as a sign to continue.

“But all of these thirteen together would still not be enough. There is one more key...And that ‘Key’ is the Prince of Light.”

The boy was confused. “The Prince of Light? Who's that?”

The woman giggled. “Well, the Prince of Light is the only boy to have a pure and bright heart, just as bright as the Princesses of not more so. He has the most hidden potential out of all of them. The Prince is the protector of all of them, the Princesses and the Beings. Also, when the time is right, he shall be my protector as well…”

Sora's eyes widened. “He's strong enough to be your protector?! Amd what does this all have to do with me?”

Kay nodded. “Yes, he is. And how this all relates to you...well…”

She laughed nervously, breaking the tension and serious mood a bit. “How do I explain this without freaking you out…?”

Sora was getting impatient. “Just say it already!”

Kay sighed in resignation, knowing there was no way to avoid it. It didn't mean she didn't want to say it, but she was reluctant to do it this way…

Fine, if he wants to freak out, I'll do it. Not like there's a way that will lessen the surprise, anyhow…

“Sora...Well...um…”

Sora glared at her for her hesitation.

“Well, Sora…” she sighed, then looked at him straight in the eye.

“ _You're the Prince of Light_.”

It took a few seconds to process it, but once he did he exclaimed,

“ _WHAT_?!”

She giggled at the scene. “Well, it's true.”

Sora said, “W-what makes y-you think that?”

She thought for a few seconds, then got an idea. “I'll prove it to you.”

Sora asked, “How? How can you prove that I'm…?”

Kay laughed. “Just listen. Do you see that crown necklace?” The boy nodded. “Okay, why do you never take it off?”

He thought for a second. “Well, I…” Sora's eyes widened in realization. “Once, I had a dream, a long time ago. I was about five or six years old, and Kairi had just arrived at the island from her world...I had a strange dream that night, where a light came up to me, seeking refuge. I accepted..”

He continued after taking a breath. “After that, I heard a voice, telling me to...take the ‘crown’ and keep it, as it would protect me. It also said to keep it on, so when the time comes, I'll be told the truth by K or something…”

“But now I realize what it meant, that voice. This necklace would save me when I needed it most, and would bring me to you...and then you'd tell me the truth…”

“I had written the dream down after I had it, to help me remember. Sure, it was written by a little kid, but I was still able to read it even after several years...It reminded me of that dream, and how I got my necklace. I don't know why I continued to listen to it, even after such a long time had passed. But whenever I moved to remove it, something inside me told me to keep it on.”

He chuckled bitterly. “Guess it was right...That voice…”

Sora then became silent, mulling over what just happened. Kay, finding a good opportunity, continued.

“Now you know. Just follow your heart, and it will tell you the truth if you truly don't believe me.”

Sora nodded, then slowly placed his hand over his chest, and he looked up to the sky. “...Am I...really the Prince of Light? I find it too hard to believe...and yet, it somehow feels right. How…?”

He closed his eyes, still not believing what could be the truth. As he did so, he did not notice how Kay walked up to him, and she placed her hand over his, which was still over his chest.

Sora snapped his eyes open at her touch, but was only met with a blinding light. So his eyes closed once more as he heard the voice whisper to him.

“You must make sure that the Princesses are safe, young Prince. But be swift, as the Beings will be in danger themselves quite soon...Travel the worlds, find all the Princesses, make sure they're safe, then find the Thirteen Beings of Balance and protect them with all your might. And I will in turn protect you from death, until you are worthy and strong enough to protect me. Now go, the crown over your heart will light the way to them…”

As Sora felt his eyes closing, he heard a few last words from Kingdom Hearts. “Good luck, and stay safe…”

And he fell into unconsciousness…

“My dearly beloved.”


	2. The Dwarven Woodlands: Ch. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First, Sora will have to check on the Princesses of Heart, then he has to find the thirteen Beings of Balance. In this chapter, he starts off his epic adventure in the Dwarven Woodlands...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please PM me if you have any questions at all, I would be happy to answer them for you! Kingdom Hearts has always been a complicated franchise, so I'll try the best I can to answer! :)

Sora fidgeted in his bed. He heard the birds singing outside…the sunlight from the window hit his face.

He took a pillow and shoved it on top of his head as he flipped onto his stomach, wanting to sleep in a bit longer. The light was stubborn, however, and its bright gleam found its way through his eyelids.

He groaned and reluctantly opened his sky blue eyes, half expecting to wake up in his room back home.

_Or I hope it isn't Donald playing some kind of trick on me…_

But as he did so, he saw nothing of either of them. He sat up, confused.

The room he was in was small, and his head almost reached the ceiling. He noticed that if he stood up, he would have to duck in order to walk around.

There was not much furniture, just some small beds and chests, and maybe a dresser or an armoire or two. In fact, they seemed quite a bit smaller than anything he had seen at home...or his adventures for that matter.

He was about to get up when a figure walked in through the abnormally small door. It was a petite and pretty girl with short, dark black hair and bright skin, with a blue and yellow dress to complement the red bow that sat atop her head.

She smiled at him warmly. “I'm glad to see that you're up. I was worried when we found you passed out near the entrance of the dark forest.”

She walked up to him, ducking as she did so. “I'm Snow White. Who might you be?”

Sora was about to respond when he realized a crucial detail.

_He was supposed to be dead_.

Well, this was going to be a problem. He had gone by Sora his whole life, and now he couldn't really use it again. What would happen if anyone he knew went to this world, and found out that a person that died had come here? They would be distracted, as Kay put it…

His eyes widened. Snow White, who was waiting patiently for his answer, noticed. “Is something wrong?”

Sora snapped out of his thoughts as he looked back at the girl. Her soft brown eyes looked so innocent and carefree, and so kind. He shook his head. “N-no, I'm fine...I just...remembered something, that's all.”

She nodded. “Alright, well, I'll be downstairs, there are things that need to be done, after all. Why don't you stay up here and get ready? I'm sure you'd like to get comfortable before you introduce yourself. I'll see you downstairs, then.”

Snow White’s smile grew larger as she ducked out of the room by way of the small door. Sora blinked at the sudden retreat.

He shook his head again. No, he had to listen to Kay. If he wanted his friends to be safe, he'd have to find a way to keep his name from being spread across the worlds.

Suddenly, something Kairi once told him came into mind...

 

* * *

 

_Sora, Riku, and Kairi were at the paupu tree, looking across the golden sea and into the orange sunset._

_They say there in silence, enjoying it, until Kairi suddenly spoke up._

_“Hey, did you know our names have different meanings to them?”_

_Sora and Riku looked away from the sunset and at her. “Huh?” Sora asked. “What do you mean?”_

_She giggled and pointed at Riku. “Well, Riku, in Japanese, means land or shore.”_

_She then pointed at Sora. “And yours is sky, Sora.”_

_They both looked at her strangely as she giggled. Riku then asked, “Then what does yours mean, Kairi? Unless yours doesn't have a meaning.”_

_Kairi pouted. “It does too have a meaning! It's...um-”_

_Riku laughed. “See, you would've known. So I guess your name isn't all that special, huh?”_

_She frowned and looked towards the sunset. “What was it...Oh!” She suddenly exclaimed. “I remember now!”_

_Sora was curious in what her name meant compared to theirs. “So? What is it?”_

_Kairi turned and looked at them, grinning. “Well, it's not a complete translation, but I remember someone telling me that it was taken from the sea. So…” She pointed at each of them as she said their meanings, “Land, Sky, and Sea. Doesn't it fit?”_

_Sora grinned. “Yeah, sure does Kairi!”_

_Riku scoffed. “Maybe it was_ **destiny** _.”_

_Kairi pouted again, but then smiled. “...Who knows? Maybe it was destiny after all…”_

_They all say there in silence once again, looking back towards the bright sea as the sky grew darker._

_Suddenly, Riku spoke up. “Then do you know what darkness and light would be called?”_

_Sora snapped his head towards Riku. “Huh? Where'd that come from, Riku?” He shrugged as Kairi giggled._

_She continued, “Well, there are a lot of meanings for them, from what I remember anyways. But there are two that stood out to me…”_

_Sora couldn't help but be curious. “Well? What are they?!”_

_Kairi smiled at the two boys. “Well, I think darkness was Yami, and light was Karui. There's also Hikari, I think, but I could be wrong.... Of course, there are a lot of other meanings, but I can't really remember them!” She laughed at her misfortune._

_The others laughed too. They continued talking until sunset…_

 

* * *

 

Sora smiled at the memory. Karui, Hikari, and Yami...Light and Darkness…

He didn't know why the memory had come just then. Maybe he and Kairi were thinking of the same thoughts. Or maybe Kay had brought forth an old memory to help him out. Whatever it was, he'd never know. But one thing for sure…

It would surely help him on his quest.

He ducked out of the room and down the small stairs into another small room, this time with miniature tables and chairs. Snow White was making a pie as he walked up to her.

She smiled at him. “Are you feeling better now?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah, I am, thanks.”

She giggled. “I'm glad you are. Oh, would you mind helping me with something?”

Sora nodded again. “Sure! What do you need?”

Snow White got out some plates and silverware from miscellaneous cupboards and drawers. “Can you please set the table for eight? Oh, make that nine, you look starving! If you need an extra chair, there's one in the corner there.” She pointed to a random corner where there happened to be a small chair.

He smiled. “Alright, thanks.”

Sora took the items and placed them around the table, grabbing the chair afterwards and placing it at a random spot with a plate at its seat.

As he pushed the chair in, his stomach grumbled. Snow White was right, he was quite hungry…

Suddenly, he heard some male voices singing outside. Snow White hurriedly opened the door to reveal seven...Sora rubbed his eyes.

Seven dwarves. Seven came walking in, and all sat in their seats, which happened to fit them all perfectly.

Now he knew why the furniture was so small…

One of them, with a stern look on his face, saw Sora first and glares at him. “Hey, what are you doing in our house?!” He shook a fist and angrily stomped in his direction.

A kind looking dwarf with small glasses stood in front of him, blocking his path. “Now histen lere, er, listen here, Grumpy, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this...Snow White, do you know this young man?”

She smiled at them. “Well, I had found him unconscious in front of the forest, so I brought him here. I hope you don't mind. And he hasn't eaten anything, so he's going to be eating dinner with us.”

The dwarf known as Grumpy glared at Sora for another second before he relented. “...Fine. Just no funny business, alright?” Sora nodded. “Good. Now let's eat!”

They all sat down, including Snow White, as they began to dig into the food that she had prepared.

There was a cacophony of noise as the dwarves all talked to each other, but luckily, Snow was able to calm them down enough.

Sora looked at all the dwarves. The first was the kind looking one as he had seen earlier. His eyes landed on Grumpy next, then another dwarf who's eyes were drooping and his head nodding. The next was laughing at a joke another dwarf had made, his face full of smiles. Sora next saw a dwarf, but before he could even think, the dwarf had looked away, blushing and mumbling to himself.

Sora wondered why.

He saw another dwarf, one whose nose was moving, as if itchy. He watched on as the dwarf inhales sharply and turned the opposite direction. The unlucky dwarf was harshly pushed back against the table as random brooms and tools went flying across that side of the room. Sora blinked.

Snow White gasped. “Bless you! Sneezy, are you alright?”

The one now known as Sneezy sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve. “Y-yeah I am, thanks Snow.” He smiled lightly.

Sora smiled, and his eyes finally landed in the last one of the bunch. He wore distinctive clothing, and did not have any facial hair unlike the rest of them. He looked up and smiled at Sora before his hat fell over his eyes. He slid it back up and silently laughed, before eating again.

Snow White giggled at the scene while Sora decided to finish up eating…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Soon enough, they all finished, and Snow White ushered all of the seven dwarves in a single file line, each facing in Sora's direction. She introduced them to him, coincidentally in the same order he had seen them.

“First, there's Doc..”

He smiled and held out his hand. “It's nery vice, er, very nice to meet you!” Sora shook the small hand as Snow White introduced the next one. “This one is Grumpy…”

Grumpy huffed and glared at Sora. “Well, I guess it's alright to meet ya, at least you didn't cause any trouble…”

Sora stood up straight and nodded. The one after was introduced. “This is Sleepy...Sleepy, get up please, and say hello to our guest.”

Said dwarf looked up with a start and immediately apologized. “Sorry Snow White, I'm Sleepy…” He yawned and stretched as the girl introduced the next dwarf. “This one is Happy.”

Happy smiled and vigorously shook hands with Sora. “It's great to meet you!” Sora grinned back. “You too.”

“This one is Bashful...now don't be shy, say hello.”

Bashful looked at Sora then immediately looked away, blushing with embarrassment. “I-it's nice to m-meet you…”

“As you may know, this is Sneezy…”

He sniffed and wiped his nose. He said in a muffled voice. “Hello there.”

Snow White giggled. “And this last one is Dopey. He doesn't really talk, but he's kind.”

Dopey held out his oversized sleeve and Sora shook it. The dwarf smiled widely and shook it in turn.

Snow White then smiled at Sora. “Well then, what your name?”

Sora nervously laughed. Now was the big moment. Should he…? He shook his head. No, he had to do this, for the sake of his friends, and there was no better way than to introduce himself with…

“My name is, um, Karui. It's nice to meet you all.” He grinned.


	3. The Dwarven Woodlands: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of the last chapter. Sora is currently in the Dwarfs' home...and he revealed a name that will become his alias.

Snow White smiled. "Karui? What a nice name!"

Sora rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "Y-yeah, um, thanks…"

The dwarves all looked at him. Grumpy was the only one that spoke to him directly as the others looked like they were gossipping. "That's a weird name. " He glared and turned back to what could be the gossip group of the past.

The raven-haired girl looked outside. "Oh dear, I must be going! Do you have any place to go, Karui?"

He shook his head. He was in a completely new world, he literally had no place to go at all.

She held out her hand. "You can come with me, if you like. I'm sure no one at the castle would mind, really. We have plenty of room for a guest."

He blinked, The girl in front of him...lived in a castle?! Sora nodded dumbly, and she led him out of the house, the boy blindly exchanging good byes with the more open dwarves.

I'm a few minutes, they ended up in front of a dark forest, and Snow White shivered. "It sure is chilly outside…we better hurry before it gets too dark."

Sora nodded and followed her. The trees glared at them with black eyes and frozen faces stuck in a terrible pose. Sometimes, he swore he saw saw a dark, yellow glow coming from the trees…

They soon reached a dark clearing, and they stopped for some rest. As they did so however, the shadows started moving…

The darkness gathered in the center, just until it was larger than the both of them, and formed itself into a dark beast. It roared at them, and Snow screamed. She ran to safety as Sora brought out his Keyblade, the Oathkeeper, a weapon of light.

He glared at the large monster of darkness. "Let's go!"

The beast roared, and it raced in his direction. Sora stood his ground until it came closer, then at the last minute, he rolled out of the way to the beast's side and swung his blade into its side. The shadow quickly swiped a large claw, and Sora held his Keyblade up in a guard position. The shadow feinted and swiped Sora on the back, where he had no protection from.

He yelped in both pain and surprise, but he quickly rolled out of the way before he was hurt again. If he stopped now, he'd only get hurt more…

He heard a roar behind them and he hastily turned around. The shadow was charging at him quickly, bright yellow eyes glaring in his direction. Sora dodge rolled out of the way again, and looked back. The Heartless had turned around and was running at him again. He sighed. So it's those kind of Heartless.

He continued rolling along the ground, his back stinging each time. Every time he stopped, for a split second he'd look for the Heartless, watching to see if it was still trying to chase him.

After a long while, the Heartless stood still, and Sora stood up slowly. His body was now caked with dirt and mud, some leaves mingled in the mess.

The Prince of Light took the opportunity and charged forward, brandishing the Oathkeeper in his right hand. Once he was close enough, he swung it in a devastating combo, doing some heavy damage. However, he backed off once the Heartless regained its bearings.

It looked quite angry, as a dark steam started to radiate off its body. Sora held his ground and held the Keyblade up to the sky quickly. "Curaga!"

Several yellow flower bells hung over his head as he was engulfed in a bright green, healing light. He felt the scrapes on his body stitching back together. It itched.

The cold wind blew across his bare back, causing him to sigh. It was too bad his clothes couldn't protect him that well…

He yelled out as a dark, purple flame went passed him, and he dodged out of the way.

The battle went on and on for about half an hour before Sora was left panting as the Heartless was pouring imaginary dark blood onto the ground, dissolving into shadows.

But Sora had enough MP for one more spell…

"Thundaga!"

A large lightning bolt lit up the forest in a bright yellow light as it shot down right onto the Heartless. It roared as it fell down, its pain obvious. Eventually, it disappeared in a dark, black smoke, leaving Sora in the clearing alone…

He sighed and fell onto the ground, exhausted and hurt. The small rocks littering the ground dug into his wounds, making him grimace from the pain. No potion could cure that easily…

Sora sighed and used Curaga again. His MP was now very low, and he ran out of Ethers, so if he came across something else like that again, he wouldn't be so lucky….

Snow White ran to him, frightened of anything else that might hurt her or 'Karui.' "Are you alright?"

Sora nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm okay...I've been through worse." He grinned through his pain. "We could get going before something else comes, okay?"

Snow nodded, and they hurried through the rest of the dark and dreary forest.

 

* * *

 

Sora sighed in relief as the light of a castle came into view. They had gotten very lucky to not have seen anymore major Heartless. He did have to cut down some shadows on the way though.

They soon reached the entrance, and they entered. Snow turned to Sora. "There should be a room right up those stairs." She pointed to a staircase. "Thank you for helping me Karui. It's a good thing you were there to scare the monsters away." She smiled at him kindly, and after a good night, she walked up another staircase and disappeared out of sight.

Sora smiled as well. It was always nice to help others...though it was nice to lay around every once in awhile.

He soon made it to an unoccupied room, and he immediately went to the bed. He fell asleep just as his head touched the pillow.

 

* * *

 

Sora woke up just when the sky was starting to light up. He wrote a short note before he ran from his room to the front, where he hoped to see the sun rise.

Unfortunately, the forest was in the way. He frowned, then ran back inside, going up staircase after staircase to try to find the highest point in the castle. In his mind, he was running with Riku and Kairi, all of them competing together to try to find to find the best spot towards the sunset…

The illusion faded away as a cool breeze hit Sora's face, revealing that he had found his way to the very top. He blinked the tears out of his eyes as the sun started to rise out of the sky, bathing the darkness in yellow and blue light.

Above him, he heard a flash, and he looked up to see a Keyhole outlined in a bright white light. The Keyblade appeared in his hand, in the shape of a never forgotten promise he had made…

He held it to the sky and a thin laser of light shot towards the Keyhole, making it shine as bright as a star before it fell away in a shower of sparkles.

Sora smiled as the sun went up into the sky, reminded of when it set when he was at home.

A sparkling tear found a way to escape his sky blue eyes as an even brighter light consumed him…

 

* * *

 

When the sun was high in the sky, Snow White walked to Karui's room, but didn't find him there. Worried, she scoured the place until she found a note written on a small piece of paper:

Thanks for everything! But I've got something important to do, so I'll see soon!

\- Karui

Snow White looked out of a window at the cloudless sky, smiling.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! Sorry for the late update and stuff, I forgot about AO3 for a spell... ^^'
> 
> Anyways, got a coauthor, Amalia_Ignisa. She's helped quite a bit. :)


	4. Believe in Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora will now arrive to a new world, as he locked the Keyhole. The Keyhole protects the Princess of Heart, so Sora's mission is so far a success. But it seems that his heart longs for his friends...How can he live with the pain, knowing that his friends think him as dead...?

Sora opened his eyes once the light stopped filtering through his eyelids. He blinked when he saw where he was.

It's because he actually didn't know where he was.

He stood in front of another castle, this one made of a light blue stone instead of the light gray of the one Snow White was at. It stood tall, sparkling in an evening sky filled with stars.

He started walking towards it. Best place to find a princess was in a castle, after all.

The forest he walked through was also dark. Seriously, why were all of the forests he walked through dark? He jumped at every rustle, and it wasn't fun when nothing ever came out, so he was definitely on edge.

Lucky for him, he didn't encounter any Heartless. But that's what frightened him a little. Why was the Heartless count so low? Did it lessen when he beat Maleficent? Or Ansem controlling Riku? He wasn't sure...there wasn't really a way of knowing.

Sora stopped in his tracks. What had happened to Kairi? He had seen her just before he was transported...He could only hope that Donald and Goofy were able to bring her to safety, but he was sure that they did. He knew they were capable of taking care of themselves. If there was one thing he was worried about, it would be that Donald should heal his allies at the right time for once…

Kairi was one of his best friends, as well as Riku. If anything happened to them, what would he do? Even though his Destiny is different, he knows that he'd still want to protect his friends. But how can he protect them without being recognized? Kay seemed to hint at them having their own Destiny as well…

Sora chuckled nervously. That's what happens when you live on _Destiny Islands_ ….even though Kairi had come there later than Sora and Riku, since they had spent their whole lives there….at least, before that adventure started….

He continued walking, lost in his thoughts as his feet automatically moved him in the direction of the castle.

Sora was getting pretty close to the castle when he tripped and fell in the dirt path. He picked himself up and sighed. Now his clothes were even more dirty….How was he supposed to adventure like this?

Suddenly, he heard a woman's voice call out to him. "Are you alright?"

He looked up to see a woman with pretty blond hair and nice clothes running towards him. It seemed she was the one who said it.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. It's not like I'm hurt or anything."

The young woman nodded. "Oh, that's a relief. I hate seeing anyone be hurt." She gasped. "Oh, I never introduced myself! My name is Cinderella. What's yours?"

He hesitated for a sec before he said, "My name's Karui! Nice to meet you! Cinderella, right?"

She nodded. "Yes. That's me." A smile appeared on her face.

Sora smiled as well. "Okay, just wanted to make sure!"

Cinderella gestured towards the castle. "Do you have anywhere to go? I was just on my way to the castle, so you can stay there if you want."

Sora blinked. More girls living in castles? It'll probably be like this every time, huh?

"Sure! I need to get cleaned up too." He laughed nervously and put his arms behind his head in a relaxed position.

"Alright."

They both walked towards the castle again in silence. Cinderella broke it, asking, "Do you have any extra clothes? That way, I can sew yours back together, if you want."

Sora chuckled nervously. "Actually, these are the only clothes I have…" He himself didn't know how his clothes survived everything he had done during his adventures. They were sometimes surprisingly clean too. Maybe Donald's magic did it….Either way, he definitely didn't have that protection now, that's for sure.

She giggled as well. "Well, don't worry. I'll let you use some other clothes. I know the owner wouldn't mind. He doesn't even wear them, really."

Sora grinned at her. "Really? That's great! I'm surprised how fast these got torn and stuff. They always lasted a while back at home…" his smile faltered at that statement. He missed home quite a bit…

"Oh, you're a little home sick, aren't you? Maybe talking about it will help. It's always helped me, you know."

Sora looked up at Cinderella, and his smile turned a bit sad. "Okay. I guess it could…"

He looked up at the stars above. "Me and my friends lived on these islands, Destiny Islands. We always had fun, and the sun was always out. We had our fights, but we'd always see the sunset each day. It was pretty awesome. But we wanted to see the world outside because the island felt small…" He grinned and turned back to his audience. "Home was nice, but I've always liked going on adventures!"

She giggled. "It looks like it was really nice. For a lot of my life, I lived with my stepmother and stepsisters. I always did the chores and helped around the house. The mice and other animals were always nice with me, and they had even helped me make a dress for a ball. But even when the dress got ruined, my Fairy Godmother made me another dress and used some magic so I could go. And even after all of that, there were so many others that helped me, including these three people. I think one of them was your age. But without them, I don't know how I would've gotten here where I am now. And for that, I'm grateful."

She sighed happily. "I always knew my dreams could come true. All I had to do is believe."

Sora stared at the sky, thinking to himself as he nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I guess mine came true, huh? I got to go on the adventure I had wanted, though I guess not in the exact way I wanted it."

Cinderella said, "Yes. Even if we don't get everything we want, there's always something we can do, even if it seems impossible. Just believe."

She gasped. "Oh, I need to be right back! I forgot to get something!" She ran off before he could say anything.

"So, believe, huh? Alright, then...I believe my friends will be just fine! There's no doubt about it!"

He looked up at the sparkling sky as another Keyhole appeared, just above the castle. Oathkeeper appeared in his hand, and he was once again reminded of his promise.

He held it to the sky, and a beam of light locked a Keyhole once more.

One day, he'd give back Kairi's lucky charm…

He believed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it was short. The next one will be longer, and will last longer as well. I want Sora to learn or know something with every world he visits. So we may all learn something new. Since I have more chapters on Fanfiction, I will update this site once a day until I catch up, which is actually the next chapter. Please leave a review, I want to know what you all think! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask! :)


	5. A New Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora now arrives in another world. That was fast, wasn't it? What'll happen in this world?

The first thing he heard was the wind and grass.

His limbs felt a tad sore, but the soft cover underneath him made it seem like they weren't…

And Sora was relaxing.

Yes, he has a job to do. But he deserves a break every once in awhile, right? Of course he does. Even when he was with Donald and Goofy, they always had fun at some point or another.

So he slacked. Oh that lazy bum…

 

* * *

 

Eventually, he opened his eyes to a pretty blue sky. The grass beneath him was soft and cozy, so he didn't really want to get up…

Suddenly, a shadow fell over his face, making him blink. He sat up, and he saw that a dark cloud had started to cover the sky. Some extra darkness condensed together, eventually forming Neoshadows. Sora gritted his teeth as he got up from the ground. He had never seen these Heartless before, but they looked pretty dangerous...especially compared to the usual Shadows.

He summoned Oathkeeper in his right hand, the Keyblade feeling lightweight and easy to carry. He bent down, ready to fight at any given moment.

The Heartless pounced on him, some literally doing so, and some sinking into the ground invulnerable.

Sora ran forward and did a combo to a Neoshadow, making it flinch before it swiped Sora across his left arm. He cried out, but he attacked it a few times, causing it to dissolve. He spun around and hastily blocked another claw, countering right back, pushing the dark creature back. Sora then took some of his regenerated magic energy and cast a deadly Firaga around him, burning some of the Heartless.

He wasted no time as rolled out of the way of one leaping out of the ground. It hissed at him as he got away, and it moved in his direction. Sweating, the Keyblade wielder hit the Neoshadow as fast as he could, and he spun in place constantly as he tried blocking the rest off.

Needless to say, he did not get out unscathed. Scrapes covered his entire body as he fought them off still, his Keyblade slicing the darkness. It glinted as the sun shone once more, temporarily blinding the Neoshadows. Sora took the opportunity to combo a few to Oblivion. Ironic since he was using a light Keyblade.

Anyways, there were still a few left, and they already had snapped out of it, as they started moving towards Sora, malicious intent glowing evilly in their yellow eyes. He jumped up and over behind them, attacking from behind to try to gain more of an advantage. But they turned to him quickly, jumping forward with claws out.

Sora yelped as he blocked the first one off, but he got attacked from behind, making him fall forward and get attacked several more times, all over. He grimaced as he got up and tried to fight them off the best he could. They continued to claw him, but he refused to go down, not without defeating these guys first!

Suddenly, a bright aura surrounded him, and he got the urge to flip his Keyblade around so it was backhand, so he did. He dashed forward and sliced his enemies swiftly, not willing to give them a chance to attack back. He then lifted up his Keyblade and jumped up as he sliced downward, causing a five bright lines to slice across, instantly defeating most of the Heartless.

And just when he thought he was almost done, some Invisible Heartless spawned, and he groaned in annoyance. He definitely remembered these Heartless, and they weren't fun.

Well, he still had a super cool aura surrounding him. He thought he may as well.

He launched forward and continued to attack Heartless left and right, and before he knew it, he was floating in the air with swords made of wind at his side. He couldn't stop to think about it, as he was too busy trying to stay alive at the moment.

Sora willed the wing blades to attack the Invisibles, slicing and dicing their way through. And then, it was time for the big finish. The blades surrounded him and burst in light as they created a shockwave on the ground, eliminating the rest of the pesky Heartless.

He panted and fell back onto the soft grass. Somehow, the patch he was on was untouched as most of the other areas were upturned and pulled out crazily thanks to both sides.

His body and Keyblade had stopped glowing, and he held out Oathkeeper to the sky, healing himself with a Curaga spell. He really needed to stock up on Potions and Elixirs because this was starting to get on his nerves. And he was extremely sore. Curaga can't heal everything, and some of his scratches still looked quite raw. He was running low on magic power…

At the moment, he felt miserable. So he closed his eyes and rested on the soft grass, the sun warming his body like a blanket…

* * *

 

"Ugh…."

Sora opened his eyes to find himself in a dimly lit room. How many times was he going to wake up in some random room? He didn't know. Not one bit.

"What should we do with his clothes?"

"Indeed, they're ripped apart."

"Oh look, the boy's awake!"

He stared up at the three figures surrounding him. One wore red, one wore green, and one wore blue. They had wings on their backs, and pointy hats with dresses.

He asked, "Who are you?" After all, that was the most reasonable question he could ask them.

"Flora."

"Fauna."

"Merryweather."

Sora blinked. "So you're named after flower terms?"

Why he was so perceptive at that exact moment, even I don't know. But it definitely caught the three good fairies off guard.

"I suppose so…"

"Yes…"

"I see…"

The young teen asked what he was doing there in that room. They said that they had found him injured on the ground surrounded by ruined and ruffled grass. They assumed that he had been attacked by the dark creatures and decided to bring him to the castle to heal him up.

And sure enough, when Sora checked, all of his scrapes and scratches were gone, and he didn't really feel much pain. But that was the thing:

He saw the bare spots.

His clothes were ripped badly, especially around his shoulder and stomach area. He sighed. If they were like this on his third world, how long until they practically disappeared?

The three fairies saw his forlorn expression, and they nodded to each other. Flora went up to him. "We'll make you some new clothes, darling."

"Yes, no need to fret now."

"Don't you worry about a thing, alright?"

Sora was still a bit skeptical. "But they wouldn't last very long. I would have to get new ones after…"

"We'll enchant them with magic so that they'll protect you and so they can stay in a good condition."

"They will help a lot with any quest you may start."

"We may even add a bit extra, to help you out."

The young teen's eyes shone with hope, "Really?! Thanks a bunch!"

They laughed. "Now don't thank us yet, dear, we haven't even made them yet."

"Now, why don't you stand up?"

Sora, confused stood up as they assessed him.

"Hmm, red looks great on you."

"I believe green would look quite nice on him."

"No no, that just won't do. Blue would be the best."

Before any of them said more, Flora shot some magic from her wand, aiming straight for Sora, He closed his eyes as a light enveloped his body. He felt a soft fabric against his skin, but it felt heavier than he thought…

His eyes widened as they opened. He now realized why.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

The fairies laughed nervously, most particularly Flora. "That was my mistake, my bad…"

"This is why red shouldn't be his color."

"You messed up quite a bit."

The reason was because Sora was now wearing a dress. A really fancy dress. One that was bright red. A really bright red.

Sora's face was flushed in embarrassment as he stuttered, "U-um, can you p-please just fix this?!"

They nodded, but…

"It should be red."

"No, green."

"That's not right, blue is better."

They continued to argue, and each time one of them said anything, they shot their wands at Sora, changing his outfit into strange ones and making them look weird in general.

Every accidental outfit was a different color, but they were all strange-looking. He hoped that they could fix it….

And suddenly, they were arguing so much that they shot their magic all at once, and Sora closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. He had a bad feeling about this…

"Well, that worked well, didn't it."

"He looks so charming."

"It looks wonderful!"

Sora opened his eyes and hesitantly looked down at the clothes.

"Oh, here's a mirror, it'll make it easier."

A mirror appeared before him, so of course he looked.

His clothes were mostly black. The shirt was a very dark blue with red pockets in front. The jacket over it was black with silver shoulder pauldrons and white outlines. His baggy pants were black as well with blue in the midsection. Several yellow belts went across, holding down two large red side pockets. His shoes were similar to his other ones, except with black on the front. His dark fingerless gloves had white X's on them with yellow wristbands keeping them in place.

His silver crown necklace glinted in the sunlight shining through the window.

Sora had to admit, he actually liked this. It fit him perfectly, and they were comfortable too. And they totally contradicted his role as Prince of Light. He hoped no one would see it coming.

The fairies nodded in satisfaction.

"It's enchanted, don't forget. So it won't rip or anything like that."

"Yes, and it has some powers of its own. You'll just have to figure it out along the way though."

"You look quite dashing. And stains won't show easily!"

Sora grinned. "Wow...thanks! This is so awesome!"

Flora then asked him. "Now, what is your name, young man?"

"My name's Karui."

Sora was getting used to calling himself that. Maybe his thoughts should include it too...but ah well for now.

"Karui, what a nice name."

Sora and the fairies turned to see a young woman with golden blonde hair standing in the doorway, smiling softly…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am now officially caught up! :D The next one will come somewhat soon, so stay tuned! 
> 
> This world shall be continued in the next chap.
> 
> Also, I based some of this chapter off of the Kingdom Hearts 2 manga.
> 
> May your heart be your guiding key.
> 
> ...
> 
> I've always wanted to say that.


	6. Another Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Kairi's story finally starts. Let's find out what happen to the princess of Heart now that our Prince of Light is on his own quest. (I hope i haven't over done it)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kairi's and Sora's adventure will be changed occasionally throughout this story so don't be surprise when you saw the sudden change. Kay?

Kairi's story.

Part 1:

Standing in the hallway of what seemed to be a dark castle. A young girl stared at the ceiling helplessly as she watched the small glimpses of light shattering into many pieces and flew away, disappearing within the darkness that covered the room. Her deep blue eyes had widened in shock as she saw the light fade away, while her lips were trembling.

"Sora ... are you really ..." She barely whispered. Her face saddened down as the thought registered into her mind. Sora was gone. All because he wanted to save her. He willing to open his heart to the darkness so that he could save her.

'No, I can't let him go like that. Not after he let himself disappear like that. He can't just accept that!'

"No. He can't be! I won't let him go!" She said determinedly. The girl, Kairi, looked around the hall to see if there was any clue that could help her find a way to help Sora. Yet, as hard as she and Donald with Goofy looked, there was nothing. Sora had disappeared without a single trace.

"So, you have awakened at long last, princess."

A man's voice echoed in the grand hall. He had tan skin, orange eyes, and long white hair. His hair was smoothed back into three spikes on the top and sides of his head and a messy appearance. He wore a black, high-collared, leather coat that had a red interior and yellow lining. This coat was grey from the waist down and had several buttons lining the hips, a belt around his waist, and a second one that extends from the waist and up to the collar to connect to several smaller straps. The four shorter straps were buttoned to either side of the front of the collar while the remaining ones were buttoned to the shoulders to form spaulders. A black leather pauldron was attached to each spaulder by three buttons and two straps that button the rim of the coat and two more that cross over his upper back. On his upper chest was the Heartless emblem in the form of a brooch that holds the outer coat together in place of a zipper or buttons. Underneath this coat, the man wore a white, thigh-length vest. This vest was also high-collared and exposes most of Ansem's chest, with three black buttons and two thin belts near his waist closing it up while the three remaining buttons below were undone.

In addition, he wore wide-brimmed, white gloves with three buttons lining the forearms and a grey band on either wrist. He also wore black pants and black that were tucked into knee-high boots with silver trimming and high concave indentations in the top.

"The Keyhole is now completed. You have served your purpose. But now it's over." The man strode to Kairi's side.

"Don't make another move!" Donald glared hard at him as he held out his wand readying to attack and protect Kairi. Goofy followed suit as he took out his shield. Lowering himself next to Donald, he whispered, "Do you think we can stop him all by ourselves?" His voice sounded nervous and worried.

"I don't know ..." Donald replied, keeping his eyes on the man, watching him carefully so that he wouldn't do anything funny.

Yet, just as he made his way toward them, the man, Ansem, stopped short. "Impossible." It was like something, or rather someone, had frozen his body, stopping him in his tracks.

Another figure appeared in front of him. Engulfed in a golden light, Riku spread his arms as if to block Ansem from going any further.

"Riku?!" Cried Kairi.

"You've got to run!" Riku said urgently. "The Heartless are coming!"

"No, I won't leave you! Sora had already been taken away! I can't let the darkness get you too!" Kairi cried out desperately, rushing towards him.

"Just leave! How can you help what seems to be the remaining of a rebellion heart?" Riku replied, his face twisted in pain. "Didn't expect me, did you?" He managed to smirk, giving Ansem a side glance.

"Hmm ... nevertheless, there is already no way for you to recover. Now return to the darkness where you belong!" The darkness that spread out from Ansem quickly covered the whole place, making Riku's form fade bit by bit. His self was slowly swallowed by the darkness.

Panicked, Kairi reached out her hand and grabbed his, pulling him away from the ever growing darkness. Her hand shone in a bright light as it held Riku's wrist. The darkness was pushed back. Taking the chance, Donald casted a massive wave of Blizzaga magic towards Ansem, freezing him into an ice statue. Goofy charged forward and broke the ice, shattering it into many pieces. The darkness lessened. Riku fell onto his knees and stumbled down onto the stone floor, breathing hard.

"Riku?!" Kairi called, shaking his arm lightly to catch his attention.

"I ... I messed up ... Kairi, I'm sorry." He managed to say between the breaths. Riku kept his head down, as he refused to look at Kairi directly. His cyan eyes were hidden under his thick silver hair, making it impossible for Kairi to know what he was feeling. Yet, the way he said his sorry was enough for her to know that he was feeling guilty. Riku was always the one who liked to keep his thoughts and feelings all to himself. Yet, he was very sincere towards them as well. He always spoke up his mind without hesitation - of course, that is, if it wasn't one of his secrets. And even if it was, he would find a way to avoid it rather than lying about it.

Smiling sadly when she realized he was alright and only exhausted, Kairi was about to say something to cheer him up. Yet, the moment she was about to open her mouth to speak again, the whole ground started to shake restlessly. Dust fell from the ceiling as pink electricity zapped from the heart keyhole.

"What is going on?!" Donald asked, trying to put weight down into his webbed feet to keep his balance.

"The … Darkness." Riku replied quietly as if he was whispering. The boy lifted his face from the ground that very instant, alerted. His eyes narrowed, trying to focus on his surroundings. The action caused Kairi to step back and worry over their situation. She turned her head around and looked around as well. Her ocean blue eyes rolled to the left then right, watching the hall carefully.

Just then, the Shadow Heartless emerged from the ground, encircling them. Riku got to his feet immediately and summoned the Soul Eater to fight them off. Even on shaky legs, he charged toward the enemies and sliced them down, not letting them get close to Kairi. The boy let out a tired breath, and swung the blade to his left side, cutting down Heartless during its wake. Donald and Goofy pulled out their weapons to help him fight them off as well, leaving Kairi. But she couldn't help but feel guilty that she couldn't fight along side with them.

Another wave of Heartless appeared, replacing the fallen at once. The new ones were even stronger than the last, this time instead of only Shadows, there were Darkballs and even Invisibles as well. Knowing that they couldn't continue to fight them off forever, Riku came to Kairi and took her hands, and turning his eyes toward Donald and Goofy he called out to them, "We have to get out of here! More Heartless are coming!" His voice was quick and urgent.

Without giving the two of them time to respond, Riku ran out of the hall, pulling Kairi along with him. Donald and Goofy gave each other a glare. Both questioned the other if they should listen to him. Yet, without time to actually consider the action, the two of them ran off with him as well, knowing that there was no point in staying there anymore.

"What should we do now?" Goofy finally asked as they fled from the hall.

"We have to protect Kairi!" Donald replied, trying to get out the hall as fast as he could.

"But what about the Keyhole?" Goofy wondered as he tried to catch up with everyone.

"Let's just get out of here." Donald said quickly while they rushed out the hall as fast as they could. Many Shadow Heartless followed them, growing by the swung his blade as he run, clearing the path as they made their way toward the front hall. The four of them ran to the gate without even looking back. Yet, by the time they got there, Riku stopped death in the middle of the front hall. Letting go of Kairi's hand, he stood silently watching the three ran away from the place without him. The moment she noticed he stopped for unknown reason, Kairi looked over her shoulders and let out a quiet gasp when she saw Riku stood glued there in the middle of the dark hall, his head looked down, his eyes hided under his hair. The girl stopped immediately, making Donald and Goofy stopped as well:

"Kairi … What wrong?" Donald asked before turning around.

"Riku …" She called worriedly. Yet, Riku didn't even bother to look up.

"Just go already! They'll keep you safe. You'll be fine…" He said in a small voice.

"What are you talking about?! Don't tell me you want to leave me too." She stumbled back. "But you can't!" She cried.

"Don't question my decision! I can't go with you! "

"Why not?!" She shouted back immediately.

"I'll only cause trouble …"

"What give you the rights to say that!?"

"Rights?" He asked mockingly and sadly as well, yet he still refused to look at her. "You're right. I don't have the rights of anything."

"Stop it!" She screamed. "What's wrong with you?!"

"Who knows … maybe the darkness is still getting to me …" He replied calmly. The words pushed Kairi off edge. Biting her bottom lips harshly, she tried to calm herself, not wanting to burst into tears in a situation like this. The girl tried to put up and brave face as she went back into the dark hall, toward him. Donald and Goofy didn't know what to do except for standing there and watched.

Once Kairi got before him, keeping a small distance between them, she raised her hand up yet stopped at mid air before completely slapped him across the face. A loud sound of slapping could be heard echoing the hall. And then there was silence. No one said a single word. Donald and Goofy used their hands to covered their mouths, trying hide their shocks. The two of them continued to watch helplessly, confused over what had happened.

"Snap out of it! You're not Riku! Just snap out of it! Give me back the real Riku! Give me back my friend!" She cried helplessly. With each word she pounded her fists weakly at him, tears were running down her cheeks quickly.

"Ah …."

"Kairi …" Donald and Goofy both looked at her sadly. It bothered them to no end that they could only stood there and watched Kairi took in everything her own. It wasn't because they didn't want to help but they couldn't.

"Kairi …" Riku spoke up, barely whispering. He looked down at the younger girl both sad and angry with himself. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find the right words to comfort her. Riku could only stood there, silently watched his friend falling tears all because of him. He bit down his lips harshly, trying to keep himself composed.

"Please … Give me back my friend …"

"Kairi … please …. This is for your own sake … The darkness has gotten to me … I don't want the same thing to happen to you too …"

"… I don't care about any of that ! Just don't leave mee. I don't know what to do …I …" She replied, sobbing quietly as she spoke.

"Kairi …"

Before Riku could say anything else the hall started to shake violently. Turning his eyes away from Kairi, he looked around the dark hall, raising an alarm as he tried to sense what was happening. In a matter of seconds, a loud thudding footsteps of what seemed to belong to a beast could be heard nearby. Riku turned around immediately. His eyes widened in shock as he saw what was behind him. There … a giant Heartless which seemed to hold an appearance of a Behemoth, was coming toward their way. It was a massive, quadrupedal Heartless. Its body was predominantly lilac in color, but its back and all four of its legs were violet. Each of the Behemoth's legs had two toes with black claws. It had two large, curved tusks sprouting from its lower jaw that were white on their upper half and lilac on their lower half. The Behemoth's conical, black horn was on its forehead. Like most other Heartless, it had yellow eyes and a jagged maw. Its Heartless emblem was on its chest.

"Kairi go now!" Riku shouted as he summoned the Soul Eater and turned around fully to face the creature. He lifted the sword above his head as he readied himself into a battle stance. Without giving Kairi a second look, Riku rushed forward and attacked the giant Heartless.

"But I can't just leave you!" Kairi shouted after him. Yet, Riku was too focused on the fight that he wasn't aware of his surrounding much except for the Heartless movements. "Riku! Please, you can't do this alone! You'll get yourself killed! Please … !"

She cried desperately. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, he just wouldn't listen.

Knowing that it was pointless to try and tell him to stop, Kairi turned to Donald and Goofy who had been watching silently all this time. Holding her hands together praying, she walked toward them.

"Please help him out …" She said in a small voice.

"There is just no way I'm helping a brat like him!" Donald stated grumpily, tapping his foot down on the floor. Crossing his arms, he turned away from Kairi so that he wouldn't have to see her face as she tried to beg.

"Please …" She begged. " I just want to help him."

Tears fell down her face. She felt helpless. While Riku was fighting for the sake of both his and her life, she just simply stood and watched him get himself hurt. She couldn't help but feel guilty. Yet there was nothing she could do to help him. She couldn't fight and getting involved would only get in his way.

' _Still, I can't just let him do this alone. Even if he messes up, doing horrible things to everyone, he's still my friend, no matter what. I can't let him disappeared just like Sora._

_I just can't…'_


	7. A Confusing Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last we checked, Sora was in the Enchanted Dominion, and the three good fairies had helped him and even gave him New and enchanted clothes that would help on his adventures. Aurora soon enters, and that is where this chapter begins...

The woman walked graciously into the small room, as a princess would do. She went in front of Sora and curtsied. “It's nice to meet you, Karui. My name is Aurora. I hope you've enjoyed the castle so far.” Her smile was soft and friendly.

Sora smiled back. “Yeah, it looks really amazing. Thing is, I haven't really seen much of it though…” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, as he had wanted to explore it earlier, but had gotten caught up in that mess…

And by that he meant with the fairies. He wasn't going to say anything though.

“Oh, then I would love to give you a tour. After all, you are a guest.” She smiled warmly.

Sora’s eyes sparkled. “Really? You would give me a tour?” Of course Sora wanted a tour of a castle. He hope he could stay here for a while, since he hadn’t stayed long when he was with Snow White. The closest thing to a castle he had explored was Hollow Bastion, and that was hardly a castle, since it had been overrun with Heartless and peril.

She nodded and gestured for him to follow her. So he did.

The three fairies watched as they both left the room. “How peculiar…”

“That boy has something special about him.”

“Indeed. I wonder what fate will have in store since he is here?”

“I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. Now, I believe we have something to do.”

They all nodded and started working on something. Even I don't know what it is.

 

* * *

 

 

At the moment, Aurora was leading Sora around the castle, talking a little as they went to avoid an awkward silence.

She spoke of something that had happened to her earlier on. But once she mentioned an evil ‘fairy’ named Maleficent, Sora’s eyes began to widen.

The young princess noticed and was confused by the reaction. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

He reluctantly shook his head. “No. Well… yeah. It's just that...well, I've met her before.”

“You mean Maleficent?”

“Yeah...she had tricked my best friend, and the darkness….it…” He couldn't speak anymore after that. It still hurt him too much, to talk about what had happened.

Aurora frowned slightly, and an empathetic look was in her eyes. “Oh… that must be difficult. You know, I believe I’ve met someone like that before. Not physically, but when I was asleep, I felt him. Both the darkness and the light inside him.”

Now it was Sora’s turn to be confused. “What do you mean?”

“Maleficent is adept at controlling the darkness, I do know that much. As such, a young man had come here, maybe a decade or so ago. Somehow, I sensed a power within him. He was powerful in the light, but the darkness in his soul was equal. Maleficent used it to her advantage to control him and steal my heart away. But what she didn’t know was that I was protected by someone...My heart had gone to another to protection. Who that was, I do not know, but if that person hadn’t...I am truly afraid of what would’ve happened to me and possibly others.”

Sora’s eyes went wide at her strangely accurate and detailed explanation. “H-how do you even know all that?”

She shook her head and smiled softly. “I am not completely sure myself. But my heart feels light. It may not make the most sense, but perhaps that’s why.”

Sora then understood a little. He thought she had looked a little familiar, and he realized that he had seen her in that hall where all of the other princesses had been held as well. Besides Kairii of course. And those other young women he had met… Snow White… Cinderella… and now Aurora… he realized that they were all Princesses of Heart. It made sense! He was sent to all of these worlds so far to protect them. The princesses. He never stayed in their worlds long, but he had always left whenever he had locked a Keyhole. Since before, the Keyholes would protect a world’s heart, perhaps the ones he had been locking would protect the princesses from harm?

Usually, he didn’t do this much thinking but he had to have some sort of explanation for some of the things that have been happening. And now he had some viable reasoning. And it helped him relax a bit

“Are you alright? Are you feeling well, Karui?”

He finally snapped out of his thoughts to find Aurora looking at him with concern. He rubbed the back of his head while he chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking, that’s all.”

Her smile thinned. “It seems you’ve been through quite the ordeal. I’ve noticed after some time that those who brood seem to have something large to worry about. There are many here who also think deeply about situations. You are not the only one. A lot of things have been happening lately, both good and bad.”

Sora nodded. “Yeah...wherever I go, there is always something...Sometimes, I’m reminded of my quest, and others, my home and friends. And even both. But even then, I guess I’ll have to be strong for everyone…”

“So you have a lot on your shoulders. As do many. I am sure though that there is someone out there for you to help you carry that burden. You don’t truly have to hold it alone. There is surely a person that cares for you at least that much.”

He looked up at her, her smile reminding him of his dearest friends. He then smiled as well. He knew what she meant. “I get it. There is someone out there willing to help me. I know that. But I don’t know since this involves them enough already...if anything happens to them, there won’t be much of a purpose to me. Not personally, anyways.”

Aurora was about to respond when a dark shadow emerged from the ground. The room was large and spacious, with no one around. Talk about the perfect place for a confrontation… Sora smirked at that, but another split second, and it was replaced by a serious scowl as the darkness finally took form.

There seemed to be a lot of Heartless in this place. He would have to do some more protecting before the Keyhole appeared, it seemed.

The Heartless that appeared before seemed different from the ones he had encountered earlier though. This time, it was a red, white, and black color, almost like some kind of knight. It looked similar to the Guard Armor he had encountered twice before, what with the floating parts that were not connected to the body at all. A voice then came through his mind….

**_Trinity Armor… That’s an Unversed… what’s that doing here?! I thought-_ **

It was cut short by a sudden attack. Sora yelled at Aurora, “Get out of here! Find some place to stay safe!” She nodded as she hastily ran out of the room.

That voice in his head had said it was an Unversed… not a Heartless. Were they really different? Maybe so, if the brighter colors were anything to go by. And there seemed to be a different symbol on the creature as well. Perhaps that was what discerned an Unversed.

Whatever it was, he didn’t have the time to think. The Trinity Armor split itself into three parts, each changing to a specific different form. One was flying in the air with a propellor, the arms. Another was looked like three-toed foot, the legs. The last seemed to be the head itself, floating on its own.

Sora immediately moved as the head and arms went across from each other to form a long and electric laser that covered most of the diameter of the makeshift arena. Luckily, there was room behind both parts, so he was able to easily avoid it. As the beam was still turning, he rushed to the arms and swung his Keyblade in a short combo, but it didn’t last for long. It was moving too fast for him to catch up. He used Oathkeeper to aim, then he used some of his energy to shoot a Firaga spell from afar. Luckily, he was able to hit it, but it didn’t seem to do too much, as it didn't even flinch. Regardless, Sora knew that it did something. He saw some scorch marks, and that meant that it took some damage.

Soon enough, they stopped their attack, probably realizing that Sora wasn't going to get hit. He took his chance and raced for the arms, which has started to propel itself in the air. He was able to jump up and do a full combo on it before a small ball of fire collided to his side. He yelped in both surprise and pain as it made contact, causing him to fall on his back. Despite his pain though, he got right back up. If he stayed on the ground, he would only get hurt and attacked more. Sora rolled out of the way as he saw the head lobbing fireballs everywhere around it, the other limbs being unharmed.

He gritted his teeth as he got out of the way. This battle was going to be difficult. The limbs were staying close to the head as the head attacked the area around it, making it hard to get in a hit without getting any injuries.

Sora caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned swiftly to see what it was. It seemed that the fireball attack was over, but now the parts had started spinning around quickly, all going in his direction. Just as he rolled out of the way, he got grazed by the spinning head, and his arm was in a world of pain. His right arm, to be precise.

He held the wound with his left arm as he looked back at the parts who had already stopped spinning. They completely stopped for a second, letting him gather his bearings and see all the damage caused to both him and the Armor.

The Trinity Armor was still split in three. The arm had taken the most damage, scorch marks visible on the pristine white. The head actually seemed to have gotten some collateral damage, as there were some scratches and a mark or two. But the legs looked to be untouched, as Sora hadn’t even really seen it throughout the battle.

Now it was time for himself, but he had to act fast. His side was burned, but his clothes had stayed intact and left him feeling not as much pain as he would have before. Which was a good thing. He was covered in small scratches on his arms and legs though, thanks to the hard ground as he had rolled away from attacks earlier. Now his right arm… he grimaced as he saw the wound. The head had scratched him deeply on his forearm, blood dripping off as the pain got worse. This was bad. He switched the Keyblade to his left hand as he looked at the wound more in full.

It was bad. And that was the least of it.

Sora decided to look back at the armor, and it had started moving again. Great. His arm seemed to be out of commision for now, so he had to use his left… and that was not going to be fun. Nope, definitely not.

He ran forward with Oathkeeper held in his left hand, straight to the arms. He attacked them with a few full combos, able to avoid the other attacks. Even as the arms shot small beams at him, he cast a Thundaga spell to quickly get rid of its health, eventually reaching zero and dispersing. The magic attack got both of the other limbs as well, relieving Sora a bit.

The legs were closest to him, so he went towards it. His arms felt heavy as he attacked it once before he felt tired. He wasn’t used to using his left arm like this. Usually it acted as a sort of support to his right, especially when he held his Keyblade double handed for the stronger attacks he performed. But his left arm wasn’t used to attacking alone, and was without the support of the right arm.

By the time he had gotten some of his energy back, the body had gotten back together again, with the arms absent. And a giant orange laser appeared in the direction they were facing, which was to the right of Sora. He started running as the laser started spinning in his direction. He knew that if he was hit by that thing, he would be finished.

There was no way for him to attack the body as the beam chased him. He was running as fast as the laser was moving, and he wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long. And if he started to move or turn, it would surely catch up to him. The only thing he could do at the moment was to wait it out…

Sora felt weak. The Unversed had him in its nonexistent claws. He could hardly do anything. His actions were based solely off of the armor. And there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

He continued to run as the laser started to grow closer every second. He was growing tired, and his legs were started to wear from all of the running and rolling and jumping he had been doing the entire battle. If he couldn’t find a way to stop this now… things wouldn’t go well. But there wasn’t anything he could do… and he hated to admit it, but he was utterly helpless.

There had to be some way though.

The laser still chased him after several minutes. Why the laser continued, it most likely because this boss actually thought about its actions. Somehow, it knew it had Sora in its clutches. And who knew if it wasted energy or not? There were things that Sora would just never understand…

Soon, the large beam was only a few feet away, inching ever closer. He knew he couldn’t jump over it, and he’d only get fried if he tried to slide under. And going straight through and bracing it was definitely not an option in this situation.

Suddenly, his right arm throbbed painfully, causing him to stumble and slow down. He tried to speed forward, but the damage was already done. The laser was literally just behind his feet.

He squeezed his eyes shut. What was he supposed to do now?! It was just about to be over for him, but he couldn’t die now!

Sora felt tears come into his eyes as he realized there was no way to get out of this. If only he had…

No, nothing he could’ve done would change anything. But there was nothing to do at this moment…

He felt acceptance settle into his heart for a split second before it was replaced by repulsion. He just couldn’t die… what would happen then? He didn’t know. But he knew that he wanted to live on. To protect his friends and everyone else from the darkness.

His eyes were still closed as he tripped over a crack in the stone floor. Startled, he held his arms in front of him to try to roll and continue to stay ahead.

“You should really be more careful, young Prince.”

A light leaked through his eyelids, and he squinted even harder to keep it out. Once it seemed to have died away, he opened his eyes to see Kay of all people casting magic with her hand at the Unversed. It flinched severely as light magic continued to hit it. Sora stood there stunned as Kay defeated it single-handedly.

After it dispersed, she turned to him with an amused smile on her face. And she laughed. Sora wasn't the most happy with that.’”Wh-what are you laughing at?”

She only laughed harder before her face turned more serious. “You had gotten yourself in quite the predicament. If I wasn't watching, you most likely would've perished.”

Sora winced at both his pain and guilt. She was absolutely right. If she didn't save him, he might of died….

He hated thinking negative thoughts. Especially those about dying. He'd had enough of those throughout his adventures. But honestly, he was shaken up by the fact as well.

Kay spoke up again. “I can't save you forever you know. There will be times when you're in a difficult situation and I won't be able to help you. So you must learn to become stronger and overcome those obstacles that stand in your path.”

Sora nodded in understanding as he looked down in guilt. He wasn't strong enough to fight his enemy…

“That's alright.”

He looked up to see her smiling at him. “There was nothing you could've done to defeat it. This enemy once fought against three. It had never faced one alone, which is why you had such a difficult time. It was meant for those with larger parties, unlike you since you're by yourself.”

Before Sora could respond, a bright light blinded him for a split second before a Keyhole shone into view. His Keyblade pointed towards the hole to lock it. And as he did so, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kay smile at him. And his sight faded to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions or are confused, you are always welcome to ask me. And Amalia. But if she can't answer, I will be able to. Hope you enjoyed!


	8. Bonds and Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora continues to find the Princesses of Heart, and this time he ends up at Beast's Castle. He soon starts to investigate, but something else is on his troubled mind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thanks for your support for the story! And that awesome review. :D Anyways, just a quick note, I am sorry if Sora seems kinda OOC in your opinion. I'll explain at the end.

Sora opened his eyes to see himself in front of a very tall and long door. The purple door was surrounded by dull gray tone. To the left and right of him were tall statues. He walked to one side and looked to see that he was on a bridge. There was practically a whole canyon beneath him. He couldn’t even see the bottom, though it could be because of the night.

He looked up at the sky. The stars were scattered across the sky, but only sparingly. It seemed that there were many dark clouds covering the rest. There was no moon in sight.

The Keyblade wielder looked back to the door nearby and walked to it. Wrapped around the small handles was a single lock wrapped tightly around them, keeping the door from being open by normal means.

Sora grinned. He didn't need normal means…

One Keyblade summoning later, Sora walked through the unlocked doors, the lock swinging loosely on a single handle.

Behind the door was a large and empty courtyard. The middle had a mosaic design, and on its four corners were gargoyle statues. Straight ahead was another large door. He walked up to it. To the left was a boarded up wall, and it didn't look like he was supposed to see it either…

It might lead him to fall in the center of a very tall room.

He looked up at the front door and knocked loudly. There was no where else he could go, after all.

After a few moments, the door swung open. He walked in and turned around, but no one was there. As he wondered who had opened the door, it had closed shut, creating a resounding noise throughout the castle.

Sora hastily turned around, hoping to ease his swift heart as he explored what seemed like the first floor. There was a single strip of a dusty red carpet that led up the stairs and beyond. Said stairs split at the end of the room where a door was placed. There were some pillars lining the middle sides, launching upward. There were also two doors on each side of the hall, and only the one to the nearest right was open.

Oddly, there were strange gouges all around the great hall. It looked like a sort of beast had been there, most likely a Heartless.

Now, where should he go? He needed to find the next princess of this world…

He looked to his right at the open door. There was a soft and flickering orange and yellow light coming from where the door opened, as well as the crack under it. That seemed like a good place as any to start.

As he entered, the first thing he noticed was a large fire burning in a fireplace in the front of the room. There was a large chair placed in front of it, the color of velvet like a lot of the cloth around here. A footrest was next to the chair, as well as a small table.

He frowned. Soraa couldn’t see if anyone was in the chair at the angle he was standing. He walked forward, only to find that it was empty. Sighing, he looked down. He was kinda hoping that it’d be easy, but of course, it wasn’t.

His eyes caught something on the table. Looking at it closer, he noticed it was a small cup filled with…. Was that hot chocolate?!

A grin appeared on his face as he lifted it up to his nose. It smelled so heavenly. The cup warmed his cold hands, helping him realize that the castle he was in was indeed cold.

After a moment of hesitation (which was because he didn’t know who had put it there), he shrugged and started drinking it. And it felt pretty nice. Nothing like a cup of hot cocoa to lift your spirits and your temperature, right?

Eventually, he finished, and he set the cup down. He definitely felt better. And warmer. So now he had to go find the princess and make sure she’s okay. He knew he couldn’t stall now, especially since danger could literally be in the next room. And to be honest, he would not be surprised, especially considering the amount of Heartless he has encountered for the past few… days? Has it really been days? Only a night? It was really hard to tell since, for some reason, each place he visited seemed to be placed in a different timezone than the others.

Sighing, he stretched and headed out of the room. The next time he encountered her, Sora would have to ask Kay to explain some of this to him more. Despite all she told him, she already figured out that she had left several blanks considering his situation. How, might you ask, did he know that? It was simply because he had already had to figure out his present goal and the details behind it. Kay had only given him something akin to a hint of sorts. But even still, all of the things he needed to know eluded him.

He opened the door and turned right once he reached the worn velvet carpet. The stairs were in front of him, covered in shadows.

Slowly, Sora walked forward, cautiously watching his surroundings. He hardly registered the cold as he started his ascent into the floors above.

His footsteps echoed softly through the hall as he made it to the top of the first flight, the only sound that was within his hearing.

Sora frowned at the door in front of him, contemplating the three paths that presented themselves in front of him. The door was also abnormally large, but of course, still looked to be easily opened, if the soft light seen under the cracks was anything to go by.

Hey, even Sora can be smart! It’s just that people don’t truly get to know the things that go through his mind every day. Even with his observations, he wasn’t obliged to say it aloud. Because really, it always helped him stray from the thoughts that he dreaded to even think about.

To his left, the stairs spiraled a little back, the beams and ground scratched as if claws had climbed up haphazardly. As he followed its path upwards, he noticed that they turned sharply at an almost 90 degree angle off to the side, the stairs still continuing after a small platform allowed for said angle to exist. There was no light coming from that direction; he could only see shadows and darkness clouding his view of what lay beyond.

He then looked to his right. It was symmetrical to the other staircase. But he noticed that there were two differences. First of all, the stairway seemed to be almost untouched, save for a few marks and some worn areas. But even as he looked towards the top, he noticed that it was not covered in shadows at all. In fact, the only reason he couldn’t see what was above was because of the walls that eventually surrounded the stairs.

He knew that where there was light, there might be a princess. Because, of course, their hearts were made of pure light. Shadows could not hide them. He smiled.

Sora knew the power that light held. He knew, because he had used it too. It existed in everything he did. It appeared in his magic, he used it with his friends, it was in his Keyblade, his own heart. He found that the light helped him a lot. It helped give him strength against the darkness. And when he and his friends were together, he knew the light was there too. To him, too, friendship was light. And his friends were the people that truly gave him his power as he constantly fought against the darkness. The light in him refused to let a dark deed pass by, and he was glad for that. It gave him the strength to go against his best friend, for somehow, he knew that it was the only way to bring him back. And he was sure that Riku was alright, because despite the darkness in his heart, Sora knew that he had a strong light as well.

After another moment, he ultimately decided to look through the door. He could see the golden light that leaked through, and his heart felt warm.

And as he opened the doors, he stared in awe as the doors swung silently off o the side.

The room Sora found himself in was beautiful in every sense of the word. The chandelier that hung from the ceiling was highly intricate and was covered in clear gems and glass that sparkled across the entirety of the ballroom. Because really, what else could it be? He saw candles lit on the chandelier, and large candelabras lined the walls and the balcony sides.

They shone with a warmth that coated the room, giving him a strange sense of safety that he admitted he had not felt for the longest while. He could see that the place was luxuriously decorated, the golden decorations gleaming.

At the end of the room was a large window with a door placed in the middle, also made almost entirely out of glass if not for the chestnut wood framing. And surprisingly, he could just see stars shining outside of a large balcony. So did the stars only come out on one side of this castle or what?

Sora walked forward taking everything in as he slowly spun around, as it was totally the best and most dramatic way to do it. Even the silence seemed to have a sort of quiet music playing in the background, giving the experience a mystic and magical feel.

A sad smiled found itself on his face. If only Riku and Kairi could see this place… it was pretty amazing…

But alas, he knew his mission. Sora sighed as he reached the end of the glorious room. He opened the door onto the balcony and looked at the view that graced his eyes.

He leaned against the railing as he found himself losing himself in his thoughts again…

To find and protect the Princesses of Heart, as well as the Beings of Balance. That was what he was sent to do. But to be truly honest, he knew that his heart was not truly in it. It was because his heart belonged to his friends. They were his light, his strength. He did not have much of a will to go on this journey. The original reason he had even started the first time was for his friends. To find them and go back home together. But unfortunately, things escalated into something more… complicated, he supposed.

He thought he knew what he was getting into when he accepted the Keyblade, and eventually sacrificed himself. But it just couldn’t be that simple, could it? A bitter chuckle escaped his mouth. No, he was stuck doing something just because it needed to be done. Even though he enjoyed his journey, it was heavily tainted with the battles with darkness and his own worry for his friends. Even now, he worried for their well-being as he stood alone in the cold night…

A breeze ruffled his hair and clothes as he stood there, his bright blue eyes shining with unshed tears. Sora wondered if Riku and Kairi were able to escape safely from the dark castle known as Hollow Bastion. And silently, sadly, he wondered if he would even see them again. And if he did, how long would he have to wait until he could? It was likely that it would be a long time, he had no doubt. So, really, was all of this worth it?

What was he doing this for, now that he thought about it? It didn’t feel like it was for his friends.

A tear escaped and shone in the starlight, making it quite visible to anyone watching. Though it wasn’t like anyone was watching….

He didn’t hold the rest of his tears back. They flowed down his face and as he crossed his arms on the railing, he buried his head in between them. Sobs escaped his throat.

Sora had tried to stay strong throughout his whole adventure, as he felt in his heart that everything would be okay. And even when that belief had faltered, he didn’t want to bring anyone down, so he continued to smile, continued to laugh and grin.

But now… it was just too much. All he has gone through now has been battle after battle, and this time, he was very much alone. A journey he had to take by himself.

Why, he asked himself? Why him? Why did he have to do this? To undertake this journey?

Sora knew that it was for the good of the worlds, but still. He had no motivation, no determination, no strength or power to continue. For his friends were his power. And without them there, he felt like he had no power.

“But still, the door has yet to be open, young Prince of Light.”

Startled, Sora turned around, only to find Kay as she gracefully walked to him, her form slightly glowing in a white light.

Once he saw who it was he turned back around, towards the view of the starry sky. “Oh, it’s only you.” His tone was defeated and sorrowful.

She walked to his side, and she stole a sideways glance at him. It was clear that he was crying, as there were still tears streaming down his face. His eyes shone, but even so, they were filled with pain and sadness.

Her lips curved up sadly as she reached for his face and tenderly wiped the tears from under one of his eyes. He looked at her in confusion as she held the water droplets on her finger.

Kay looked into Sora’s eyes. “I know you’re in pain. I forced you from your friends, I will admit that to you. But even so…”

Her eyes gravitated to the sky. “Did you already forget, Sora?”

She lifted her hand to the sky, palm facing upwards as the tears still on her hand glimmered. They softly lifted upwards, the droplets slowly spiraling together. Gradually, they formed a small heart not unlike the necklace she wore. It condensed into something more smooth and it turned solid. It was as if the tears had been frozen in time, and it looked almost like glass. The heart had a slight blue tint.

It floated above Kay’s palm now, spinning in place as it sparkled with several light colors. “Some people think that a person’s heart is the weakest part of themselves. And sometimes, that is true. A heart allows emotions to control your reason, throwing it away as it sacrifices itself for a useless cause. A person can regret because of that.”

“And yet… a heart is a person’s greatest strength. Do you know why?” Before Sora could answer, she continued.

“It’s because without a heart, there would be no friendships, no bonds, no light, no darkness. Only an empty void. A person cannot live without a heart. They would have no will. And no love.”

“Our hearts connect us all together. No matter how far we may be or how lost on our path we may go, a heart allows bonds to form beyond the power of gods. Despite what we may think, two hearts intertwine if they are close enough together.”

“Kingdom Hearts is filled with the hearts of many. Those who have passed and those who continue to live. It has a heart of its own too. Without it, the other hearts would not exist, bring everything to chaos. But even so, it cannot connect well to everyone. It is a difficult task. And that is why I am envious of you, Prince of Light.”

Sora, who was listening the whole time, wiped his leftover tears away. “Envious of me? Why? Am I really that special?”

Kay nodded and smiled. “Yes. Your heart is special. It connects with so many so easily, it seems it has no limits when it comes to the bonds with all you cross paths with. And still, there is more. Your own heart has the potential to bring back those who were believed to be eternally lost. Not even I can do that. It was why you were able to bring back your friend’s heart and return all of the others. Yet it is still considered locked and unusable.”

“That is the reason for this journey. For if your friends were to ever perish or lose themselves to darkness, the bonds you share would be able to bring them back to you. Through saving the princesses and the Beings of Balance, their light, power, and bonds would be able to turn into the key that would unlock your own.”

Sora stared at her. His heart… really had the potential to do that?

Almost as if reading his mind, Kay answered him. “I know it may be hard to believe, but yes, your heart is abnormally strong and is filled to the absolute brim with the purest of light. So, Sora…”

She held out her hand to him, waiting for him to take it. “Will you please help me save the worlds as you unlock your own light?”

He looked at her softly glowing hand. As she had talked to him, he felt his determination return. Because there would be a reason for him to go on this journey.

His hand slowly raised up to her own. If he could really bring back his friends… it would be worth it in the end. For he valued his friends more than anything else.

He took her hand and shook it firmly, and it almost felt as if his power was renewed. He realized, Kay was right. The bonds and experiences that he and his friends had shared would keep them together.

Sora could feel that his journey would be better now. For now, he even had a bond with Kay.

And that was when he knew that he was not alone. For everyone would be there with him, if only in spirit. And Kay would be there too of course.

His friends were his power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sora is usually a very optimistic person, but he's stressed. He doesn't know the fates of his very best friends and it's really getting to him....
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! :)


	9. Back to Kairi!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are now temporarily back to Kairi's side of the story....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None of use own Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise in here.

Donald and Goofy looked over at Riku, watching him as he ran forward and swung the Soul Eater viciously at the Heartless. Goofy looked down at Donald.

"Y'know, I think we oughta help him," he said, grabbing onto his shield. "He may be cold and scary but he’s still Sora's friend."

"Fine. But I'm only doing this for Sora." Donald agreed, raising his staff and starting up a spell.

The two of them charged into the battle with little hesitation. Even if it was for Sora, it still bothered them to think of helping someone who had been so mean towards their best friend. Even if he was Sora's friend as well, it still didn't change the fact how bad he had treated him during Sora's travels and how he had always messed around with Sora whenever they saw him. Someone like that should be rotting to death. Yet, the both of them knew better than to let him on his own. Sora wouldn't want that. They were sure of it.

"Gosh, you should stay here where it's safe Kairi," Goofy said to the scared girl before he ran into the battle to help. Kairi turned her eyes to him, then to the battle before her, and back to Goofy. After a few moments of silence, she nodded quietly. Taking note that she agreed, Goofy gave her a small smile before charging in after Donald.

The wizard raised his wand and casted Thundaga, which caused showers of lightning to rain down at the Heartless. Many of the lightning bolts were absorbed into its body while the rest almost struck Riku if he hadn't jumped out of the way on time. Yet he didn't say anything to them, knowing that he deserved any kind of punishment that those two seemed fit, even if they didn't mean to hurt him. The boy watched the Heartless carefully as he planned out the next attack. Thunder wouldn't work, Donald had proven that. He then looked over Goofy. None of his attacks seemed to be working on the Heartless as well. It was like the Heartless was immune to all of the attacks, physical nor magical. None seemed to be working. Yet, there must be a way to fight it off. There had to be.

Every creature or person had a weakness, he reminded himself. Donald raised his wand, pointing it toward the Heartless. Instead of casting Thunder like before, this time came a gigantic fire ball of radiant heat, then frozen down with a chuck of ice from Blizzaga. The fire exploded at its head, yet, could barely do any damage at all, while the chuck of ice came to the leg, freezing it for the time being.

That’s right, magic wouldn't work on that thing.

Another shower of lightning rained upon the Heartless. Much like the first, Riku jumped out of the way. Once he was sure that he was in a spacious area, he looked over the creature. Strangely, he swore he had heard a sound of growling pain. Riku took a step back and watched its reactions. Could it be the weakness? But wasn't it resistant towards lightning magic just a moment ago?

The spell didn't seem to do any damage toward the body nor any of the limbs. That's for sure. Then there had to be a weak spot. Riku casted his eyes around, giving the Heartless a quick scan. From top to bottom, the behemoth was just like a giant beast, with its large body and slow moving legs. The only thing that caught his eyes was a horn.

'Wait … That's it!'

His eyes lit up as he realized. The Heartless' weakness. It was that glowing horn on top of its head. But how to get up there, now that was another challenge. Riku waited for his chance. Much like before, Donald waved his wand upon his head again as a lightning shower rained on the Heartless, creating small cracks on its glowing horn. The creature growled in pain and stumbled down to the ground. Wasting no time at all, Riku climbed on the Heartless’ back and ran toward the head, where the glowing horn was located. Once he got to the head, he swung the Soul Eater over the horn, crushing it with all his might. The horn broke into pieces, shattering all over everywhere as if it was made from glass. Riku jumped down from the head and landed softly down to the crumbling ground, his back now colliding against it. Turning around quickly, he watched as the Heartless let out another angry growl before stumbling down, fading into the light. A red heart flew out and disappeared.

Riku dismissed the Soul Eater, now breathing hard from the fight as he stumbled down to his knees. Donald and Goofy put away their weapons as well, cheering happily as they won the fight. As for Kairi, she just stood there and placed a hand over her heart, watching Donald and Goofy, and then her gaze turned to Riku. After a long moment of silence, she walked toward him. The girl stopped only a few steps away. Riku looked up at her before turning his eyes sideway. Letting out a sigh, he told her.

"See? That's why you can't stay. Now go!" His voice was cold.

"But Riku … What about you? You're the only friend I know now who is still with me. I don't want you to abandon me too…" She said in a soft voice, yet it would seem like she was in edge of crying.

"Kairi …" Riku bit his lips, now feeling even more guilty than before. "I didn't mean it like that." He tried to say.

"Then don't leave me behind!"

"Kairi …" He thought about her words and looked over Donald and Goofy. Of course, he wanted to come with her so that he could protect her. She was his friend after all. But what about the other two, after allowing darkness into his heart, would they see him as Sora's friend any longer? Probably not. He had even raised his sword at Sora. He no longer had any rights to even stand by Sora. While Sora is the hero of Light, he was nothing more but a dweller of Darkness, forever to be wandering inside that place.

"I don't think anyone would want a stain of the darkness to stay near the light." He said in a low voice.

"It doesn't matter! There is no darkness without light. Yet! There is no light without darkness either way. If the light doesn't stand side to side along with darkness, then where can it stay?"

She spoke quickly. At that point, Riku was about to open his mouth again when the words got caught inside. Kairi was right. There was nothing for him to refuse this time. It would seem like Kairi had won in this 'fight'. The corner of his lips lifted up barely as a small yet still sad smile appeared on his face.

"It would seem so …" He managed to say in a small voice.

Kairi smiled as well. The girl turned away from him and over to Donald and Goofy. Waving her hand, she tried to catch their attention.

"So can he please come with us ?" She said politely.

" …" Donald didn't say anything. Yet, he narrowed his eyes.

"Well if he is your friend, of course he can." Goofy said cheerfully, offering both Riku and Kairi a warm smile. "We can always use some help. And the more the merrier, right Donald ?"

"He better not backstab us …"

"He won't ." Kairi assured.

"Then we better go before more Heartless show up … By the way Riku, can you not look like that when ya with us? This ship runs on happy smiles …" Goofy said.

"Happy?" Riku repeated. How could he attempt to smile now? But he was still shocked over how they treated him. Surely Donald didn't seem to trust him but he had every right to. But what about Goofy? How could he be so forgiving after how cold he was to the both of them.

'I guess now I understand why Sora can be friends with them so easily. It is simply because they are just like him. Friendly, understandable, and have a heart that almost seem to be full of light. Even if it's only almost, it is more than enough.'

"C'mon silly. It's not that hard." Kairi teased.

"See?" She smiled brightly, almost to the point where her cheeks would hurt which made Riku couldn't help but to chuckle lightly.

"There you go. It's not that hard now, is it?" She asked, still smiling.

Another earthquake ran across the dark hall.

"We better get out of here, quick!"

"Alright, let's go."

And they left the ruins of Hollow Bastion.

The Gummi Ship was soon gliding along again through the Other Sky.

"I hope Sora is alright …" said Kairi, gazing fixedly out the window. Deep inside, she knew that he would be alright, she was sure of it. Sora's heart was full of light; surely, he would win against the darkness.

"Wow, everything looks so amazing," she shouted excitedly. "It's so beautiful." She continued, pressing her hands against the glass. The opened space outside, or the Other Sky as how most people would call it, was absolutely breathtaking. With every world out there looking like twinkling diamonds, they were simply amazing compared to what she had seen. Back on the island, she couldn't see the stars like this before.

A wide smile appeared on her face.

"Hey Riku! Aren't they beautiful?"

She asked and turned around immediately. Yet the smile on her face quickly vanished when she saw her friend. Riku was sitting at one of the corners, his back against the wall while his eyes were once again hidden under the layers of his silver hair. He sat there, doing nothing but staring at the floor like a lifeless puppet. His heart was there but his soul seemed to be elsewhere.

Kairi was worried at first then frowned as she made her way toward him.

'This again … He really needs to stop doing that…'

"Riku. Will you come here and look outside?" She asked with a wide smile, trying to break his thoughts. With how horrible he looked, she just wanted Riku to stop scaring her like that. It was freaky, as if the heartless had just taken his heart away.

Riku only shook his head silently, which made another frown creep back onto her face.

"C'mon Riku, don't be like that." She said as she made her way towards him. Yet Riku still didn't bother to move an inch nor speak a word. "Are you going to ignore me as well?"

"It's alright. Don't blame yourself. You can't know what will happen. You just only want what best for us that you lost track of what important. I'm not blaming you so you shouldn't do that to yourself. ..." She paused for a moment.

"Sora wouldn't want you to do that..." She added, knowing that would catch his attention one way or another.

'Sora … The kindest person and friend I have ever known … the one who seemed to be dazzling in the light.'

"Why wouldn't he … I … I even …" He replied hesitantly.

"Because you two are best friends."

"Best … friends?" He asked with disbelief as if he was questioning that fact. A long time ago, he wouldn't even question that since it had always been the three of them, together, hanging out on the play island, talking about their dreams, wondering about the world where Kairi came from, and how they would get there themselves. Yet, the day of childish pranks were long gone the moment the Heartless raided the island. It was then when everything had changed. Their normal everyday lives and even themselves. Even now, he couldn't believe that he had fallen for the lies just like that. It left a sickening feeling inside him.

'I've turned my back on my friends when they were trying to help me. It wasn't the other way around. I'm nothing but a fool. Sora is gone because of me and I didn't save Kairi. Sora did. I couldn't do a thing. I can't even do anything right. I couldn't help my friends. I only end up killing them … and then doom the whole world along with it.'

"Come on Riku, stop messing around." Kairi smiled softly, trying to lighten the mood. "You two have been best friends forever."

"It was before I ruined it …" Was his only reply.

"You didn't ruin it … You just …" Kairi tried to pick out her words.

"Listened to Maleficent and turned my back on him," Riku finished.

"… Oh … will you stop that?!" She pouted. " We know you didn't mean to …" Kairi frowned even deeper.

"…" This time he didn't say anything in return.

"Riku please … I know what you did is wrong, we all do. But your intentions were good, you were trying to help me, I know. You just have bad way of expressing things. It's alright, everyone makes mistakes too, ya know."

"You know … No one can be as uptight as you are," she joked and pretended to pout.

"Right …" A small smile came to his figure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amalia: I hope all of you will enjoy Riku's with the gang and if you don't, that's fine. Don't get your hopes up 'cause he won't stay long...
> 
> Eevee: Thanks for all of your support! See you soon!


	10. Sora: Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora is still at the Beast's Castle, still talking to Kay before heading off. Let's see what'll happen this time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, it's Eve here! Thanks for your support so far as we continue the story! It continues to motivate us to keep going, and we're really thankful for that! Now, let's get on with it, shall we?
> 
> We don't own Kingdom Hearts or any other franchises that can appear in here, including that if Beauty and the Beast.

Kay smiled at Sora. “Here. Take this. Continue to use your Oathkeeper, but once you fulfill your promise, you may use this.” She held out the heart made of frozen water and waved her other hand over it. After a burst of sparkles, a bright silver chain linked to the top of it, officially making it a keychain. She took his hand and wrapped his hand over it before letting it go.

Sora opened his hand to see the charm there. It felt cool and light, even through his glove. He smiled and put it carefully into his pocket. He grinned. “Thanks.”

Kay then said, “Sora, now, don't you have something to do?”

She smirked as his eyes widened in realization. “Oh! Right, I almost forgot! Thanks, Kay! See ya!”

She waved as he ran back inside. “Good luck!”

As he walked across the brightly lit ballroom, she gasped silently to herself. “Oh, looks like I forgot to tell him something important… I suppose it’s too late now. I can tell him next time...”

She frowned. “Wait…”

Meanwhile, Sora was opening the doors outside the ballroom, now more determined to complete his task than ever. But as he stepped out however, he felt a strange power come over him. Trying to ignore it, he tried moving his foot forward. But to his (slight) horror, it didn't budge. In fact, his whole body couldn’t move!

Suddenly, he was pulled back. Yelling in surprise, he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable crash into a wall or something. But to his surprise, he felt himself stop, and he was just in the air, his feet just touching the ground. Opening his eyes again, he noticed he was back on the balcony, with Kay holding a hand in front of her mouth, as if trying to hold back a laugh.

Which, by the way, was exactly what she was doing.

Eventually, she got over it. “I'm sorry about that, Sora. I needed to tell you a couple more things before you left.”

He frowned. What could it be? “Alright… what is it?”

“Let me ask you something. Did anything strange happen when you encountered that Unversed?”

He thought about it for a sec. “Ummm… Oh yeah, I heard this really weird voice in my head for a sec, saying how it was an Unversed and stuff!”

Kay nodded. “So I see. Listen, don't be alarmed if you ever hear it again. In fact, that voice may have some helpful advice for you. I cannot explain exactly what it is now, but still, I'm sure he will help you on your journey. There are a lot of people counting on you, you know.”

He looked a little surprised. “O-oh… Really?”

“Yes. I do feel like there was something else I was supposed to tell you, but it seems to have slipped my mind once again. Ah, yes, that was it.”

Sora tilted his head slightly, confused at what she was trying to say. Sighing, she continued, trying not to focus on the cuteness of his innocent expression. Stupid innocent anime boys and their cute faces…

Clearing her throat, she continued, “Don't forget that you don't have your full power right now, thanks to the sacrifice you made to save your friend. That power was taken. But as it goes, to couldn't be destroyed. Matter cannot be destroyed, only… recreated.”

Sora was genuinely very confused, and Kay noticed. “Don’t worry, I’m not saying this to you. I’m saying this to those who are reading this. There is something else though.”

The young wielder was just as confused as ever, but he hoped that whatever she said next would make more sense.

“Anyways, from here on out, you will encounter others that you used to know. Karui… an interesting name, to say in the least. While I don't think it fits you very well, it is an unorthodox cover. Just as you're a sky, you're also a light to so many. A perfect word to represent Light. However, you're appearance leaves much to be desired.”

Sora pouted. “What's wrong with how I look?! I think it's just fine!”

Kay sighed. “Sora, think about it. You look the same way you always have. Except you're wearing different clothes, but that's not the point! What I mean is, the people that you have met, like Aladdin or Jasmine, would recognize you in an instant. No matter how much you may deny it, they'll still think you're Sora. And if Riku and Kairi were ever to visit those worlds, they will be informed of your passing through. Then your cover would be blown, and they would search for you, hindering their own quest.”

He seemed to deflate at those words, realization coming over him. “Oh, yeah, you're right… hey, what are they going to be doing anyway?”

She thought for a second, a strange emotion coming over her face. Then she replied, “I can't tell you. At least, not yet. You still need to focus on your journey. If you became too worried for them, you would only go to them if you felt they were in danger, when I know they should be able to handle themselves. Then, it could all be ruined by that one single action.”

She turned around and looked over the balcony into the starry sky. “What I can tell you though, is that your quests - you and your friends’ - are imperative to the worlds’ survival. That's why I'm so adamant when it comes to you not seeing your friends. Because, when the time is right, you can come and save them when they need it the most. And don't worry, I'll tell you when.”

Sora seemed to look a little better, a small smile forming on his face. He nodded, and so, she continued.

“In the meantime, you'll need a disguise for the next world you'll go to after this, as well as the one after that. You may not have realized it yet, but contact with them is needed to lock the Keyholes. And because of that, they would know who you are. I just need a good disguise for you…”

“...You know what, I'll just cast an illusion.”

She waved her hand in the air, and a shower of sparkles covered Sora before disappearing.

Sora felt a little strange, maybe almost like he was covered in pixie dust? But the feeling passes as soon as he came, and he didn't feel much different. “Um, did it work, or…?”

She nodded. “You'll see you as yourself, but everyone else that sees you will not be able to recall your appearance later. It's a convenient spell.”

Kay then looked down and whispered to herself, “I wish I would've thought of it earlier…”

Unfortunately for her, Sora caught it, but he decided to not mention it. Since it can be used later if his cover was blown, and he could reveal what he learned. Yep, that was a good idea.

“Okay Sora, I think you can really go now.”

He nodded. “Okay. See you later, Kay!”

He then waved back as he ran back into the ballroom.

Kay smiled softly and teleported away in a flash of light…

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Sora made his way back to the main hall of the large castle. Opening the doors, he stepped onto the landing. Now there were two ways he could go: the path to his left or the one to his right. There was no telling where which one would lead!

And the claw marks didn't actually give him any information, except that there was (or is) some sort of large Heartless or something here.

So which way should he take? Decisions, decisions…

Maybe he could just close his eyes, spin in circles, and go in that direction blindly. It was the best idea he had.

So he closed his eyes. And spun. He didn't know how many, but it was at least two or three. Maybe more? He didn't know; his eyes were closed.

After a bit, he stopped, trying to stand in one place. However, he was feeling a bit dizzy, swaying back and forth. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to keep himself, and he promptly fell back.

Panic spread into his being for a split second but relaxed just as fast. There hadn't been any Heartless earlier, and he was going only fall straight to the ground. It's happened to him before in much worse situations than this….

And that's when he felt himself fall further than the floor should've been.

As he felt panic come over him again, he hastily tried to turn around to stop the fall as softly as possible. Instinctively, as he felt his head crash against the ground, he threw out his right hand. Luckily, this slowed his fall, decreasing the damage. However, the force of his fall was a little too much for his arm, and he felt a stab of pain race through it.

He landed awkwardly on the stairs, upside down. His clutched his arm with his other one, grimacing as he felt it smart in retaliation to his touch. His eyes were now open, looking at the injury in the darker room.

It was red, especially around the elbow and higher up the lower arm. Also, it hurt more than it should've.

He winced as he felt the pain again. Seriously, why did it hurt so- oh…

Sora let out a sigh as he realized why. The battle with that Unversed. The Trinity Armor.

“Uh… why don't you use a Curaga spell or something? Wouldn't that work?”

Yeah, like that would help him…

Oh, wait. That actually could help him. Thanks, mysterious voice.

“I am not a mysterious voice! I'm a person too, you know!”

Oh. Sorry! What's your name then?

“...Ventus. My name is Ventus, but you can call me Ven. And you're welcome, by the way.”

Sora finally shrugged and held his hand over his arm, summoning a soft green light. The light engulfed his arm as healing bells rose above, his wound healing and the redness disappearing quickly. After a few seconds, he pulled his hand away, feeling only a slight drop in his energy level from the magic.

The injury was almost as good as new. Only a phantom pain remained.

He smiled as he brought himself up. The voice known as Ven was quiet now. He sent him a quiet thanks as he turned back around to go back up the staircase.

And he was promptly kicked in the stomach- hard.

Sora was flung back down the stairs, the strength of his unknown assailant surprising him. He grunted as his back hit the ground, pain once again shooting up his body. Why did he get injured so much?

Oh, that's right, he fought dark monsters for a living. Of course.

Anyways, he got up, the pain only hindering him a little bit. To be honest, he's been hit harder. Or at least, Riku did…

He winced when he thought of his friend who had given into the darkness. He hoped he was okay after that…

Another strong kick knocked him out of his thoughts and he skidded along the ground.

Again, Sora got up, looking frantically around for his attacker. But strangely, he didn't see it anywhere. Where is it…?

As he looked down, the kick connected with his stomach again, and he almost fell over. But Sora stood still, shocked.

Whoever had done it was invisible.

He groaned loudly. Just when he thought that Stealth Sneak Heartless with Clayton was enough. Here he has another invisible Heartless. Not fun…

He summoned his Oathkeeper Keyblade and held it in front of him, ready to guard against the thing and catch it off guard. He was so prepared for this!

But then he was kicked from behind.

Why me, he thought to himself as he spun quickly. Nowhere to be seen. There was only one way he could do this now.

He opened up his senses to his surroundings, taking in everything around him. This technique was what helped him in battle many times, helping him concentrate.

Sora focused on trying to find something smaller and quiet, one that could kick him with that strength. And sure enough, an imaginary blue target symbol appeared near a pillar, floating in midair, moving closer to him.

In case you didn't know, this was how he locked on to his enemies. He could sense them from behind. He could see past invisibility. He could track them down from afar. Geez, was this overpowered?

...Nah.

Back to the situation at hand. The target was moving closer to him, slowly, most likely a charging up an attack. Sora smirked.

He held his Keyblade back and threw it forward, the large thing spinning through the air.

It went straight through the creature and Sora swiftly dismissed and recalled his Keyblade, throwing it once more at his target.

After doing it a few more times, he threw it harder than before, doing more damage. The illusion of invisibility was then erased.

It looked eerily similar to a Soldier Heartless. In fact, if it weren't for the size and color, it would've actually passed for one. It was larger, that's for sure. Instead of a navy blue body and silver helmet, its body was a strange, dark green, while its helmet was a very pale shade of dark green as well.

The only things that were truly the same were those beady yellow eyes, glowing maliciously.

Sora quickly ran forward, Keyblade held in his hand, swinging it as he came in front of the Heartless. The Soldier look-alike was knocked back with the force, falling to the stone ground. However, it was able to quickly recover, standing up and running towards Sora.

This time he was prepared, and he held up the Oathkeeper to block the coming attack. And what a successful block it was. A clang rang through the large room, echoing loudly as the metal foot and the Keyblade collided.

Sora pushed the Heartless back and countered, pushing the Keyblade forward so that it got the Stealth Soldier again (yes, that's what the Heartless is called). However, it was pretty resilient as it only got up again.

Before he could react to its quick recovery, it had dashed forward and kicked him again, but this time in the leg. Sora lost his focus as it ran off and disappeared again.

Now he had to be extra cautious. He didn't know how much damage it took, and it was still just as fast as before. Even if he was locked on, he would have to rely on his instincts instead of planning ahead more than anything.

Or… he smirked. He locked on to the Stealth Soldier again, seeing it was still several feet away.

He charged up his Keyblade and then launched forward.

Sora was going at speeds no ordinary human could go at, slicing through the air and the Heartless. After the first, he swiftly turned and did it several more times. Now kids, this is Sonic Blade if you didn't know.

He soon finished, and he looked back to see the Heartless fall. It slowly dissipated into dark sparkles, and a heart floated into the air, disappearing.

Well, that was actually pretty easy after he figured it out. Huh.

He dismissed Oathkeeper and immediately went back to his task, the battle now in the far corner of his mind as he walked up the stairs once more.

He thought he knew before, but he seemed to forget which way.

Now, there were two paths he could take: the left, with more claw marks, or the right, which had a light shining from the hall…

Wait, what?

Indeed, there was hazy golden light coming from that hall. Meaning that someone had to there. He smiled and finally made his way up the second flight of stairs.

At the top, the stairs turned into a large and long hallway. The right of the hall was lined with tall windows, letting in the moon and starlight from outside. The left side was lined with monstrous statues placed on stone pedestals. The same wall held many large paintings as well. The ground underneath was covered in a quiet, purple carpet.

Sora walked forward, as he couldn't see the end of the hall clearly from the top of the staircase. He looked out of the windows as he went past them, and he was able to see a large forest not quite far from this dreary castle. The stars shone brightly, as if telling him to keep his heart shining bright as well.

And he smiled at the thought.

He continued looking through the windows, amazed at the beautiful landscape. If he could, he'd probably soak it in more. And open the window so then the view would be more clear, since the glass was crisscrossed with thin metal.

Eventually, he passed the windows, leaving only a blank, grey wall. He sighed as he looked ahead, as he was finally close enough to the end of the hall to see what was there.

At the very end was another window, identical to the others. A velvet-covered bench had been placed under it, but it looked old and was covered in dust.

He also noticed that, coming up to his right, was a double-doored entrance, currently closed. The doors were colored a light green and was embroidered in a pale gold. Soft light was pouring through the cracks of the door, bringing some more light into the dark hall.

The door was soon next to him, and he wondered whether he should go in or see what was out of the window. Well, chances were, he wouldn't be seeing this place for a while, so he ultimately decided the window.

The last window was the same as the others, if it a bit larger. He was able to see the continuing forest. And he was able to see the stars glittering in the distance.

...pretty much the same view as the other windows.

Sora sat on the bench and turned around, standing on his knees as he looked through the window again.

The starlight illuminated his face as he was able to delight in the nice view at last.

He didn't notice that the door near him had opened, a young woman with brown hair and brown eyes watching him from her room.

She saw him look at the sky, a small smile on his face as his sky blue eyes shone like the stars in front of him.

But of course, she was curious what a human like him was doing in the Beast’s Castle. Surely he wasn't in the same situation as her? She hoped he wasn't…

“Excuse me?”

The boy jumped and fell backwards onto his back, surprise obvious on his face. “Ow…” He rubbed his head as he looked up at her, still on the ground.

She couldn't help but giggle. “Are you alright? Here, let me help you up.”

She held out her hand to him. He seemed to hesitate for a sec before he took it. He was then able to pull himself up.

Now, Sora was wondering if she was the princess of heart. It could just be some other person..,

“Thanks,” he said to her. He was a little bitter about her surprising him, but she totally made up for it by helping.

She smiled at him. “I'm glad you weren't hurt. Now, what might you be doing here all by yourself?”

Sora froze. What was he doing here by himself? Oh right, he was looking for the princess. But he just couldn't straight out ask her. He sighed. His job was hard.

He laughed nervously before he said, “Well, I was, uh… lost, and I saw this castle. And since it was dark outside and all, well… I guess I just let myself in? Heh.”

To his relief, she nodded. “Oh, so that's what happened. I understand.”

“Um… do you live here?”

A strange look came on her face. “No, I… wait, do I? Yes, I believe so.”

Now Sora was confused. How come she wasn't so sure? Maybe he should ask… no, it would be kinda rude….

They just stood there awkwardly for a few moments before the young woman spoke up. “Oh, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. I'm Belle.”

Sora smiled. “Karui! Nice to meet you!”

Inside, Sora was groaning. He wished he could say that Sora was his name (because it was). Karui was just so… weird. Too close to Kairi's, too… but if course, that would probably ruin his chances of laying low…

Belle smiled briefly before she said, “It's nice to meet you too. But I would advise that you leave. While I find the master of the castle to be quite nice, he's… well… not what you would expect.”

“Okay then… hey, are you the only one here? Beside the master, I mean.”

She shook her head. “No, not exactly. But I've been the only human in this castle. You see, the castle’s been cursed…”

She told him a story. Maybe it was to convince him to leave before anything happened, or to convince him that the things living in the castle were nicer than they would initially seem. However, there was one detail that gave him a good idea of where he was.

The Beast lived here. And he had mentioned Belle. And it seemed that she was a Princess of Heart. Which meant he was currently talking to her right now. Which also meant that they got out okay!

Sora was happy. He was afraid that the Beast wouldn't be able to find a way out of Hollow Bastion.

After she finished her story, Sora said goodbye. Belle wished him luck, and he set off back through the hall.

He quickly walked to the front door, since he really didn't want to be accused of snooping around a castle that, of course, didn't belong to him.

He had a nice experience here. He got to talk to Kay more, and he already found another princess! He was going to speed though this at this rate!

He saw some stars twinkling in the sky as he walked towards the gate.

Maybe one day, they could all sit together, under the same sky. Or maybe their sky was the same. Who knew? He guessed they could still see the same stars too.

Maybe he was looking at the star they're at right now. And maybe they're looking right back at him. It was a pleasant and happy thought.

He hoped that one day, they could watch the stars spin together, as they sit on their favorite tree, with the star-shaped fruit glowing from the starlight.

As he walked through the gate, a bright light filled his view as a Keyhole appeared. Sora summoned the Oathkeeper and held it to the sky, end shining. A beam of light shot to the hole, a locking sound audible as it disappeared in a flash.

As the light overtook him as well, he knew that he would be ready next time. He would help his friends anyway he could. Even if it meant being away from them, as long as it was for them, if was okay… for now.

That didn't stop him from hoping that they'd run into each other again.

Later on, Belle tried to think of that boy she met, Karui. He had seemed really nice. But for some reason, she couldn't remember what he looked like. However, there was one detail that she could recall.

And that was his sky blue eyes that sparkled so brightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? Made sure we made an extra long one for you guys. Now, Sora's been going through a lot, but what about Riku and Kairi? 
> 
> Lia: Be prepared for the next part since some of you will need a pillow to hold those emotional words in check.
> 
> Eve: And maybe those teary eyes too, if you're extremely sensitive. ;P
> 
> Well, we'll see you next chap! Happy summer, and the KH3 trailer comes out at D23 on the 15th just in case you didn't know!
> 
> Let's dive in together! :D
> 
> PS: Remember, this is also cross-posted on fanfiction!


	11. Kairi and Riku: Traverse Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kairi and Riku arrive at Traverse Town after the events of Hollow Bastion, and both still have Sora's supposed sacrifice on their minds...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is another chapter by Amalia, so I hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> We don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, or any other franchise that may appear.

The town always greeted everyone warmly.

Traverse Town was very basic in structure. It looked just like any other town that anyone could find in any corner of the galaxy. But this place was where people from any world could go to. It was quite possibly the only place where there were people who knew that there were worlds other than its own. It was almost homely, but just about overrun with people of all different kinds, from different worlds across the galaxy. The town was divided into three major districts, each filled with buildings of different kinds; inns, houses, stores, and even a gizmo shop.

The first district had the most shops in it. The red roofed houses always had their lights on at night, making it very welcoming to the people who had wound up in the town by accident, or if they were worn from a long journey. It was the entryway into the rest of the town. It was this very same town that held the event beginning of all.

'The very same place that began everything. It wasn't the island, it was right here.'

The four of them walked down the street of the First District, all with heavy hearts.

"Welcome back, Donald, Goofy. And you must be Riku and Kairi?"

As if she had known they would be returning, Aerith was there to greet them in the First District. Both Kairi and Riku nodded in respond, and while Kairi smiled warmly, Riku only kept his head down, refusing to make eye contact with the older woman.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you at last. Sora has told us a lot about you … But where is Sora?" She greeted yet stopped for a moment, realizing that someone was missing.

At that question, everyone just looked away and said nothing about it. How could they bring it up? How could they say out loud that Sora was gone and they couldn't do anything to stop it? And how could they just say sorry that Sora was gone just like that? It was just too heartless just to blurt it all out like that.

Yet, Sora had sacrificed himself to save Kairi, so the least they could do right now was to respect his wish, rather than grieving over it. It was clearly known, Sora wouldn't want them to do that. If anything, he would want them to be happy, even without him around.

'That's what Sora would want, he always wishes the best for everyone even if it means that he would have to handle their pain for them. That's what makes him special, giving him the ability to touch into one’s heart unlike any other. He can see the good before the bad, but what makes him standout is that he can give the light back to those who long for it, giving them the courage to hope for a better tomorrow.'

"He is … He is …" Donald tried to pull the words together. Yet he couldn't bring himself to say it to the woman.

"Oh … um … well then … why don't we meet up with Leon and you can tell all of us at once?" Sensing their discomfort, Aerith tried to lighten the mood and smiled as she offered. Without another moment of hesitation, they agreed and walked to the Third District. The distressful air hadn't lessened one bit. Without Sora, without his ever-cheerful smile, something just didn't seem right.

'It would seem like all the happiness of the world got swept away the moment he vanished. If only things hadn't turned out this way, he would still be here, by our side, laughing, even at the silliest things, his worst humor just wants to make everyone laugh out loud until they all got stomach aches or can't even breathe anymore. Without him, everything seems kinda off. It isn't the same without him. And it feels … sad …'

The walk wasn't a long one now that the door to Third District had been unlocked by Sora.

The town was as quiet as ever. With very few people walking down the quiet street, their loud footsteps echoed through the cold stone walls, creating a rather uncomfortable sound. No one had said a single word. Not even Kairi had opened her mouth to speak.

"Oh hey! You're back. So how did it go? And where’s Sora?"

'I remember … that you had to believe in tomorrow, no matter how bleak the future seemed to be. Keeping hope alive gave you the strength to make tomorrow a better place. I can see you now like it was yesterday, showing that stupid grin, forcing me to smile along with you, even if my life could never be as simple as yours. Tell me Sora, what do you expect me to do now, knowing that I can never see into the heart of people like you can? Can you still hear us now? Are you somewhere close, watching us remember you?'

There was another silence.

'I guess not. Because I know you so well. If you really are here, you wouldn't even let us grieving over any loss, not even yours. You were never good with reading people's mood. All you ever know is to bring the smiles back into the people who don't have them, regardless the situation. As long as there is light inside that heart, you're willing to help them in anyway possible.'

"Tell me what happened." Leon finally spoke up.

"Alright …" With heavy hearts, they agreed. Recollecting the events that happened during Hollow Bastion, Donald and Goofy started telling every single detail about their fight there. How they managed to save Riku and Kairi. And then how Sora was willing to sacrifice himself to save them.

"So, the darkness is flowing out of that Keyhole?" He asked, trying not to push Sora's disappearance into matter. The others only nodded.

"No wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere …"

  
"Is there a way to turn a person back?" Kairi suddenly spoke up. "From being a Heartless, I mean."

  
All eyes turned to Kairi. At first, they were all shocked. No one had ever talked about that. But exactly why hadn't they asked questions about it was the real question.

  
"We don't know." Aerith finally said. "No one has ever thought of that before."

  
"Then there is still chance."

  
Kairi stated happily. The young girl smiled cheerfully, hoping that it would lift everyone’s spirits. Yet it didn't manage to do much. Except for Donald and Goofy, who nodded happily at her statement, Leon, along with Yuffie and Aerith only looked away. They didn't speak a single word about it. Yes, it was true that they hadn't got a single clue about it, but they didn't want to raise the young girl's hope up only to find out that it was hopeless doing so.

'At that moment, it would seem like all hope is now lost. But that isn't true. Even if everything seems gloomy, even if tomorrow's sunlight will never come, it gives us no excuse to drown ourselves in the dark. There will be a bright future where we can all be happy again. Miracles can happen if you believe in it hard enough. And there will be a day when the light will reach out to those long for it. They just need to have faith.'

"Sora will be alright. We just need to have hope in him."

"That's right!"

"I know Sora would never disappear on us. We just need to believe that he is alright."

Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement. It was the least they could do for Sora right now. They needed to believe in him. Even if they didn't even have a slightest clue of where he was at that moment, they still had to believe that he was alright. They just had to believe that he would be alright on his own. After all, what other choice did they have?

'Hope can be a cruel thing. As long as you cling to it, you dream. But when reality knocks you down again and again, you can do terrible things in the name of that dream. A glimmer of hope, dangled before you in the form of an absurd belief. It is no wonder that a person wants to believe in such dream. After all, it's what their hearts desire the most. It can be hard to fight back against your own wishes. But one must know, even hope can torment.'

 

* * *

 

Moving around would prove to be very difficult with all of the powerful heartless around. With more of them appearing, the residents were barely visible anywhere within the Town. They were now too afraid to even step foot out of the safety of their little homes.

The sound of footsteps once again echoed through the empty street. Cyan eyes watched the city silently, not a single sound was heard except the wind.

"I was an idiot," Riku murmured under his breath as he traveled down the district all by himself. At a moment like this, all he wanted to do was to spend time by himself, to rethink about everything. Yet, he didn't want to think of anything else but grieving over what he should had done. He should have just trusted that Kairi would be alright. He should has just trusted in Sora, his very best friend. If he had a chance, then he would simply go back in time and fix everything.

'But what Kairi said earlier, makes me never to want to have that wish in the first place.'

 

* * *

 

"But why would you want to wish for something like that?" Kairi asked as she heard him talking to himself.

"Kairi!" Alarmed, Riku turned around. His eyes looked at her and then to the ground. Turning away, he tried to pretend nothing had happened.

"What's wrong? You need me for something?"

"Riku … Do you regret helping me?" She asked quietly, yet it was enough to get Riku's attention.

"What?! Of course not! What makes you think that?" Riku replied quickly.

"Then why did you wish that you hadn't done that in the first place? Riku listen … please … I know you're grieving over what you did, but please stop. Stop looking directly at the problem, but take a step back. The real reason why you have done all of this, is because you wanted to help me, wasn't it? You wanted to help a friend, and you were willing to go through all that trouble just for it. Why should it be something you are ashamed of? Are you ashamed of helping me? If you wish that none of this had happened, then it would simply be like you were standing on the sidelines, watching everything without actually doing anything. It would be like watching a friend getting hurt and doing nothing in return, abandoning them without even a care in the world. Do you want to be like that? It's not the Riku I know. It's not the friend I used to have. He would simply go on and find his own way to resolve the problem, regardless of what will happen to him later on. And guess what? You're still him. Because you have done the exact same thing. You tried to find a way to help me … even if it meant costing your body …"

"…"

"Alright, I'll give you time to think about it. Just try not to do anything crazy to yourself again. Okay?"

She smiled at the last part and left, leaving Riku alone with his thoughts. Yes, she got him, again. Everything was going all wrong around him and now he had no one to blame for it. Kairi said he shouldn't be blaming himself, and it wouldn't be doing any good if he did either. Yet, it still wasn't too late to try to fix everything. He could still stop the Heartless and Ansem from destroying the world. He could still atone for the crime he did. There was still time. He had to stop the darkness from spreading before it was too late. He had to.

 

* * *

 

'Even Kairi tried to make me sound like I'm some kind of hero, I'm still nothing but an idiot.'

He thought to himself while walking down the Second District. He walked in slowly, just looking at his surroundings, when suddenly he saw a man dash out into his path. The man's face was panicked, and it didn't help when he tripped over his own feet. He had been chased around by the Heartless. Wasting no time at all, Riku jumped into action. He summoned his Soul Eater and went between the man and Heartless.

"You're alright?" He asked, casting him a side glance as he readying himself to fight.

"Y … ye … yes …" He said barely.

"You should take it easy. Go. I'll hold them back." He said.

Without a word, the man nodded and ran. With shaky legs, he escaped without even daring to turn around and see what happen next. Within seconds, he disappeared between the quiet streets.

"I guess it just you and me, Heartless."

"Foolish boy!" A voice rang. A voice that was too awfully familiar.

'It can't be …'

Riku gritted his teeth together. Why here? Why now? Why did it have to be right now?

"You …" He whispered.

"Stop resisting. Accept the darkness. You have no choice."

Dark mist surrounded him.

"I thought it was you, Ansem."

A figure appeared before him.

"You don't seem surprised." Ansem asked, amused by his reaction.

"I knew you were going to ambush me sooner or later," Riku replied simply, not letting Ansem out of his sight.

"If you were expecting it then I'll make this short and sweet. It's time you return to the darkness."

"Not a chance!" Riku raised his sword and slashed out.

"Foolish boy. Do you think you can really do me harm? Your time here in the light stops here. You don't belong in such light. It's time you go back where you ought to be." Ansem blocked the sword with nothing more than his own arm and threw Riku back.

"Nooooo! Don't you dare!"

A scream echoed throughout the Second District.

 

* * *

 

The underground waterway was deserted and dim, but the murals on the walls gave off a soft glow. The painting of the sun seemed to gaze down on the three of them with a mysterious warmth. As Kairi walked closer, the sun began to shine.

"Wow … it's so pretty." Kairi gazed at it, and her eyes widened. A beam of light fell into her hand, and the sun changed into a crescent moon. "Is this a Gummi?" asked Kairi.

"Yeah. We'd better hurry up and take it back to Cid." Donald replied.

'The man in the First District.'

"Alright." Kairi nodded.

"Say guys. When we close the keyhole, where do you think we should go and look for Sora? Do you think we could find him?"

"Don't worry, we'll find him. I know we'll." Kairi said with a brightly smile.

"How do you know?"

"Because I gave him my lucky charm back when we were on the island. He'll come back."

 

* * *

 

"Kairi!" She didn't look up. She merely smiled. Sora tilted his head curiously to one side and came closer. "Whatcha doin'?"

"This?" she answered, raising a long piece of thread with a series of white and yellow shells hooked into it. "I'm making a necklace of thalassa shells. In the old days, sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage."

Sora grinned. "Don't worry, Kairi," he said confidently. "With or without them, we'll be just fine."

Kairi smiled slightly while pulling the thread through the last shell, connecting them together into a star. "You don't believe in fairy tales, Sora?"

Sora only smiled back.

"But well, I believe in them and I still want you to have this." She handed him the newly made charm into his hand. "This is my lucky charm. It will bring luck to you when you need it and promise the reunion to those you hold dear."

 

* * *

 

"Hey Riku! We got a piece of the Gummi we need. Now we can go and close the keyhole."

Kairi called when they re-entered the second district through the alley way. Yet, there was silence and no one could be seen in sight.

"Riku?" Kairi looked up when she didn't hear anyone reply. "Riku?!" She called again.

"Maybe he just ran off to somewhere." Donald said.

"Well … as silly as it sounds, Riku would never run off to somewhere without telling anyone, or at least in situation like this, unless it's an emergency of course." Kairi laughed lightly as she tried to hide her worries.

"Riku! Where are you?! Riku! Riku!" She called out his name one more time. "Riku!"

She shouted. The girl looked around again but found no one. It was then when she started to lose hope.

"Aw … Don't worry Kairi, I'm sure Riku is just around here somewhere."

"Oh no, Heartless!" Goofy called as the Darkballs surrounded them. Kairi took a step back, afraid.

"Step back Kairi!"

"Fools! Do you really think you can win against the darkness."

Ansem walked out from the shadows.

"Huh?!" Kairi's eyes went wide as she backed away even more.

"You! What have you done to Riku?! What have you done to my friend?!" She shouted behind Donald and Goofy.

"Hum … the boy only received what he deserved."

"Give him back!"

"Don't worry princess, you'll be uniting with him soon enough."

Donald and Goofy pulled out their weapons. The Heartless surrounded the trio, blocking away any escape route. Ansem grinned evilly before snapping his fingers, ordering them to attack.

"I'm not afraid of you! I'll fight to keep my friends safe as well." Kairi said proudly.

The Heartless went before them, attacking restlessly. Yet without the power of the Keyblade, the creatures proved to be too much for them to handle. Ansem smirked at this, and with the mage and knight defeated, he walked towards Kairi, who was now kneeling next to the unconscious Donald and Goofy, shaking them.

"Now it's your turn, princess."

"I won't let you hurt them." She stood up, keeping herself between Ansem and both Donald and Goofy, as if trying to block his path from getting closer to those two.

A large black patch appeared right underneath Kairi's feet. Black tendrils reached up from the ground and wrapped tightly around her body, steadily climbing higher and higher. It had almost completely engulfed the girl’s little frame. Kairi struggled, trying to pull herself out the dark pit. The black shadow tendrils beginning to wrap around her. The cold, icy feeling… Suddenly it felt like the ground was shaking beneath her. Kairi felt like she would fall at any moment.

The darkness began to close in around her… She could hardly see… The whole world was going black…

A bright gleam of light suddenly pierced through the darkness. It got brighter and brighter, until all the darkness was forced away and Kairi was blinded by the white light. And then the strange feeling was gone. The white light dimmed. Kairi opened her eyes and gazed around her. She was holding some kind of large key.

"What's this ...?" She whispered.

"A Keyblade?!"

She ran her hands down the intricate object.

In the meantime, Ansem was beyond furious. He should know well that the darkness had no effect on her. Now her courage to stand up to protect others had given her the abilities to wield the keyblade. His darkness had helped to let her light shine even brighter.

_Perhaps the closer you get to darkness, the brighter the light becomes too._

"Grr! I'll deal with you soon, princess." Was his last words before he vanished.

Kairi only stood there and looked. At least the man took the Heartless with him. These two should be safe for now.

“So now you have a Keyblade too?”

She turned around, only to find Leon looking at her. She looked down at her hand, which held the Keyblade.

It was a pretty looking Keyblade, covered in flowers. She might grow to like it…

She answered Leon. “Yeah, I guess so…”

“Good. Then that means we can still put a stop to this mess. Where did Riku go, by the way?”

“Oh, um… Ansem… he did something to him. I don't know where he is. I hope he's alright.”

He smiled at her. “Don't worry, he seems pretty strong. He should be fine.”

Kairi smiled, nodding. “Yeah, you're right. Thanks.” She took out the Gummi they found earlier. “So I should give this to that Cid guy right?”

Leon laughed before he answered. “Yes. He should be in the first district. I lead you there once Donald and Goofy wake up.”

As if on cue, the knight and the mage started to come to, and they slowly got up.

“What happened… ACK!” Donald’s eyes widened at the Keyblade in Kairi's hand. “Y-you have a Keyblade?!”

Goofy smiled. “Garwsh Kairi, that's neat.”

Kairi sheepishly grinned as Leon smiled. “Well, what a surprise. Come on, we should get going.”

They nodded, and they went back through the doors to the First District. There weren’t any Heartless, and Kairi felt relieved. She wasn’t in the mood to fight any.

Golden light flooded the streets as they stepped into the district, giving it a nice and warm feeling. Here, it was safe.

Cid was waiting for them just outside of the doors. “Hey kid! How ya doing? I heard you got a Gummi you wanted me to install?”

Kairi handed him the part, and he held it in his hand, examining it. He grinned. “Another Warp Gummi. Well I’ll be. I’ll get this installed right away.”

“By the way, you’re headin’ to Hollow Bastion right?” Cid didn’t wait for an answer before he continued. “Be careful. The Heartless are pretty strong there; I should know.”

Leon spoke up from where he was leaning on the wall. “It used to be our home, but it was overrun with Heartless.”

“Eventually, we had to hightail it outta there before it got any worse.”

Kairi was a bit saddened that their home had been invaded by the Heartless too. Maybe if they could beat that Ansem guy…

“Kid, don't be getting too cocky, ya hear? I just finished installing the Gummi, so whenever you're ready, you can head out.”

She nodded. “Thanks!”

“Be careful.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review, and don't be afraid to ask any questions! We'll try our best to answer them! Thanks. And bye!


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